Chapter 37: Hundred Acre Woods
A/N: We get to see our favorite storybook friends! And just for the record, Hikari found the pages while they were traveling. I just forgot to add that into the story like I did with the first one, so please spare me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my oc's
Enjoy!
/
Everyone decided that it was time to head back to Hollow Bastion. They had made sure all of their friends from the others worlds were safe after that little shake up, so they decided that they should see how Leon and the others were.
Hikari was unusually quiet during the ride. Normally, she would be talking non-stop about her brother that the others would have to tell her to shut up.
They figured that she was still a little upset about the whole Xemnas thing and that she was mad that Leon never said anything to her. Plus, going back to the world where she learned about everything added salt to her wounds.
Sora gave her a nervous smile as he watched her fiddle with her almost empty potion bottle. Whenever Hikari was quiet, things were bound to turn bad.
"Y-you ok, Hikari?" he asked.
Hikari just gave him a dull, emotionless look that made him shiver.
Yep, she was not happy.
Not wanted his head to be chewed off, he tried to get her out of the mood that she was in.
"Aw, come on, Hikari!" he insisted.
"I'm sure Leon had no idea your dad was behind all of this. You can't be mad at him! Heck, I'm sure if you ask him, he'll be as stunned as you were…maybe even worse! Just don't be mad at him because he never said anything!"
Hikari looked away from him for a second and held the potion bottle tightly within her grasp.
"I'm not as mad with him as I am with my mother" she admitted.
"It just bugs me that she never said anything when I last saw her. Why didn't she tell me that I had to defeat my father? Why did she lie to me and kept me in the dark like that? How could she do this to her own daughter?"
Sora looked at Donald and Goofy; who simply shrugged, saying they didn't know what to say.
The keyblade master rubbed his head in a nervous manner.
"Maybe…she was afraid to see how you would react" he suggested.
"I'm sure she wanted to tell you…but maybe she was afraid that you would hate her for it I'm sure that's what any parent would think if they had to keep their children's origins a secret. I think she just wanted to protect you from the truth"
Hikari scoffed at that.
"Yeah, well that plan really backfired" she said.
"I still found out anyway, and from my father no less!" she said father as if it were some type of poison.
"Why did this have to happen? I was better off not knowing who my dad was and just defeating the enemy so I could get Riku and my mom back! I just wish that this was a nightmare so I can wake up and have everything right again!"
She buried her face into her knees and sobbed quietly.
She was tired, stressed out and just about had enough at this point. It was like she was drowning in her own sorrows and there was no way that she could reach the surface in time. All she wanted was to get away from this and live the way that she used to before all this madness happened.
All she wanted was to be with Riku again. Everything seemed right when she was with him. She didn't need to worry about feeling safe or being hurt. She always felt safe and secured whenever Riku was around. He was her light within the darkness. It didn't matter to her that he gave into the darkness and nearly destroyed them. If she were in his shoes, she would probably do the same thing. She just wanted to see him so bad that it was hurting her. How long could she go on without seeing those beautiful aquatic blue eyes? How long could she endure without hearing that husky voice of his?
This was utter torture and she wanted it to stop.
Sora rubbed her back in a soothing matter. It tore him up to see her spirit so shattered like this. She was always the one who cheered everyone up when they were down and told them to never give up. But to have to see her on the negative side just broke his heart. He promised Riku that he would take care of her until they were reunited. How could he do that when she looked like she was on the verge of giving up?
He couldn't let this happen to her. Not now. Especially when they were almost at the end.
"Hikari…" he began.
"Don't tell me not to cry!" the keyblade mistress choked out.
"I've been keeping my emotions bottled up for this whole journey and I just can't hold it in any longer! I want this fight to end. I want my father gone. I want my mom to tell me the truth. And most of all I want Riku back!"
She buried her face deeper within her knees and silently cried.
Sora looked at the others helplessly, but they too wore the same looks on their faces.
"Try to calm her down" Donald whispered.
"This ship runs on smiling faces, remember"
"Just say things that'll make her happy" Goofy suggested.
Sora gulped slightly and looked back at Hikari. He had never cheered a girl up before and it made him wonder if he'll ever have a chance with Kairi like this.
Swallowing his pride, he placed a hand on her knee and gave it a light squeeze.
"I can't tell to stop crying" he admitted.
"But you can't let this get the best of you. You've come this far wearing a strong face, so don't give up now. It's like you always say: you've come too far to quit now"
Hikari's crying calmed down a little, but she still wouldn't stop.
Sora sighed and continued.
"I know you're hurt with everything that's happened" he said.
"You feel lost, confused, and most of all, betrayed. I don't know why your mom didn't say anything about who your dad was, but I'm sure she had her reasons. I know you're really hurt with all of this, but think about what she's probably feeling. You forgot who your dad was and all the horrible things that he did, but she didn't. She remembers them as if it were yesterday and probably wishes that she forgot too. Maybe she never planned on telling you who your dad was because she thought you were better off not knowing. She probably wanted to give you a clean start. One with no dark, shady past. You can be mad at her, but don't hate her for what's happened"
Hikari had finally stopped crying. She pulled her face up to show it all tear streaked.
"I don't…hate her" she said quietly.
"I'm just lost. I can understand why she wouldn't want to tell me, but what I don't get was why she would willingly let me defeat my dad's heartless and not say anything. Why would she keep her mouth shut when she knew there was a chance that I would remember?"
"That's something you'll probably have to ask her yourself" Sora said.
"But in the meantime, don't think about and think of getting Riku back. And we get to see Leon, so you should be happy, despite him not saying anything"
Goofy went over and pulled her cheeks so it looked like she saw smiling.
"C'mon! Smile!" he said.
Hikari giggled a little and swatted his hands away.
"Ok, ok, I get it. No more sad faces" she said.
"Being sad and depressed won't finish this fight"
She gave Sora a small smile.
"Thanks for trying to cheer me up" she said.
Sora smiled in return and shrugged.
"Hey, what are friends for?" he said.
"Now just sit back and enjoy the ride. And maybe clean your face up. I don't want Leon thinking that I made you cry and have him chasing me with that gunblade of his"
Hikari giggled and wiped her eyes.
"Got it" she said.
She relaxed in her seat and closed her eyes in exhaustion. All that crying really wore her out and she wanted nothing more than to take a little nap.
As she dozed off to snooze land, her memoires reached the surface.
/
Hikari looked around the castle in search of her father. She hadn't seen him in a couple of days and it made her worry. Her father always came home after a long day in the lab. He would always come back with a tired smile on his face and let her sit in his lap.
But for the past week, he never came home and it made her wonder if he was alright or not.
She peered through the dark hallway and strained her vision through the darkening hallway.
"Daddy?" she called out.
She slowly walked through the hallway and fiddled with the hem of her dress as she looked around.
The halls were so dark and gloomy, that it made her skin crawl. She could have sworn that she heard some noises coming from behind her.
Whipping her head around, she looked to see if anyone was following her, but didn't see anything.
Whimpering, she turned around and trekked further down the dark hallway.
The noise came again and seemed to be closer this time.
Hikari looked behind her again and paled when she saw two glowing eyes. She never knew that it was a heartless, but she didn't care at that point.
Letting out a scream, she quickly ran down the hallway to get away from the heartless. The heartless chased after her, not caring that its meal was on the run. Hikari had tears in her eyes as she ran. She kept calling out for her father, but nobody came.
As she ran, her foot snagged on a loose piece of carpet and made her fall. Hikari whimpered and looked behind her to see the heartless was about a foot away before it jumped for her.
She screamed and covered her head, thinking that this would be her last moment alive.
She heard the heartless hiss for a second before hearing something slash through it.
Craning an eye open, she saw her father standing protectively in front of her with a glowing stick in his hand. The man had a grim look on his face as he saw the heartless disappear.
He dismissed his weapon and turned to his daughter, to see her sitting up on her scraped knees.
Hikari whimpered as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She was happy that she found her dad, but she didn't like it that he wore an emotionless expression on his face. It was as if he wasn't glad that she was here.
She bit her lip nervously, thinking that she was going to get yelled at.
Her father sighed and knelt in front of her so he wouldn't look so intimidating.
"Are you alright, Hikari?" he asked.
Hikari blinked for a few moments, before breaking down crying and running into her father's chest. She was so scared to be in this dark hallway and that heartless simply put her on edge.
Her father rubbed her back to try to calm her down.
She never saw it, but his eyes went gold for a second before they went back to their normal color.
"There, there, Hikari" he said.
He picked her up and walked down the dark hallway so they would reach somewhere brighter.
Hikari sniffled as they walked. She was glad that her father was holding her safely, but his grasp didn't hold that usual warmth. Instead, it was replaced with nothingness.
Her father rest his head on top hers as they got closer to the light.
"Don't worry, Hikari " he said.
"Daddy will always be here to protect you"
/
Hikari's eyes scrunched in frustration as she remembered that day. She never understood why her father acted to alienated around her or why a heartless was after her.
Now that she thought about it, maybe Xemnas released the heartless in hopes of capturing a heart and didn't realize that he was after his daughter's. But then again, it shouldn't have mattered. He used her heart in order to open the door to darkness.
Just thinking about her dad made her really mad. Why did she have to remember him?
She tried to take her mind off of him and thought of a time when she was little with Riku.
/
The group decided to sleep over on the small island one random day. Since they were old enough to stay on the island by themselves, they wanted to use that freedom to their advantage.
Hikari thought it was fun. This would be her first sleepover since she arrived to the islands.
Everyone had fun swimming and sword fighting. They went fishing and made smores in front of an open fire even.
But when it came to bedtime, Hikari was in full panic mode. They would be sleeping in the club house that was built on the island, and they didn't have electricity. No electricity meant no night light. Hikari was utterly afraid of the dark that she couldn't sleep at night unless she had on a nightlight or two. She knew it was babyish, but it made her feel safe.
She looked at Sora, Riku and Kairi, who were sound asleep in their sleeping bags. They looked so at peace that they didn't seem to care that they were in the dark.
Hikari looked around the little hut to see if she could find any bit of light. The only source of light that the hut provided was from the moonlight in the doorway, and even that wasn't enough.
Hikari shook slightly as she curled into a ball in her sleeping bag. She wished that she wasn't so afraid of the dark, but she couldn't help it. Every time she was in the dark, she kept seeing images of these black blobs with yellow eyes. It scared her, thinking that they might come and get her.
When she let out a tiny whimper, she woke Riku up. The silver haired boy opened up a tired eye to see Hikari shivering in her sleeping bag. That caused him to wake up completely and made him sit up.
"Hikari?" he called out softly.
The young girl jumped at seeing Riku up. She didn't realize that she woke him up and immediately felt bad.
Riku carefully stepped over Sora and Kairi's sleeping forms and knelt in front of her. Hikari slowly sat up and looked at her lap. She was too embarrassed to look him in the eye.
Riku raised an eyebrow at her reaction then realized what was going on.
"You're afraid of the dark?" he asked, but it sounded like a statement.
Hikari blushed and nodded.
"It's so scary" she said quietly.
"You never know what could be lurking in the shadows. There could be monsters just waiting to jump at you when you least expect it. I can't sleep, unless I have a nightlight on. I know it's babyish, but I can't help it. That's how scared I am"
She curled herself into a ball and shivered.
Riku blinked at few times. He never realized that she would be afraid of something so simple. But he figured it had to do with her losing her memories, so he didn't couldn't blame her. He was sure he would be afraid of the dark if that happened to him.
When he saw that Hikari wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon, he came up with an idea.
Grabbing his sleeping bag, he grabbed Hikari's hand and led her to the deck of the club house. He set his sleeping bag down and smiled at Hikari.
"Here we go" he said.
He pointed towards the night sky which was filled with stars.
"Since you can't use a nightlight, you can use the stars" he said.
Hikari looked in awe as she saw so many glimmering lights dance across the sky. It was so breathtaking.
She looked at Riku and blushed. She couldn't believe that he would be so nice about this and wanted to help. It made her feel special almost.
Riku smirked at her reaction and set her sleeping bag up next to his.
"I'll stay with you tonight" he said.
"So that way, if these monsters you're afraid of come by, they'll have to get through me first"
Hikari blushed some more before going to her sleeping bag and sliding in it.
Riku followed after and placed his hands behind his head.
Hikari pulled the sleeping bag up to her chin and looked at Riku.
"Thank you, Riku" she said.
Riku smiled softly at her.
"No prob" he said.
"That's what friends are for?"
Hikari smiled softly before snuggling into her pillow.
That night, the two of them slept under the stars, while they were protected by their radiant light.
/
That made Hikari feel a lot better. Anything that dealt with Riku could always put a smile on her face.
He treated her so nicely as kids, that she almost felt like a princess. This was why she loved him so much. Even though he could act tough and cool, he really did have a gentle heart. She was drowning in her own sorrows and confusion when she arrived to the islands, and he pulled her out. She didn't think that she could ever repay to such kindness.
But since he was out there somewhere, probably drowning in his battle with the darkness, it was her turn to pull him out. He always helped her out when they were kids, now it was her turn to help him.
Because that's what you did when you're in love with someone.
With that thought in mind, Hikari's heart was at east for the time being.
/
Heartless were running all over the place when they arrived at Hollow Bastion. It seemed that nothing had changed since they were here last time; which worried the group.
"Wait a sec; I thought everything was supposed to be under control?" Sora asked.
Just then, one of the claymores that Cid created appeared. It seemed to be reacting differently than it normally would.
"Must be Organization Xlll again" Hikari said.
"We better go see, Ni-san"
They quickly left the market place and headed for Merlin's house. Surely the group would know what was going on.
When they got to the house, they were surprised to see heartless that were from Space Paranoids. There was no way that a programmed heartless would be able to appear in the real world.
The group didn't have time to ponder on that notion because they had to get rid of these things fast.
As they were fighting, they noticed that the claymore weren't helping them fight the heartless, but rather were fighting them instead. They had to jump out of the way so they wouldn't get hit by the device while still getting rid of the heartless.
When they vanished, Yuffie slowly opened the door and peered outside. She looked relieved when she saw the others and pulled them inside.
"Come on in!" she said quickly.
"Wait a sec…" Hikari said.
"What happened to this place?"
"Didn't the heartless look like the ones from Tron's world?" Goofy added.
Yuffie just pulled them along.
"Just come inside!" she said.
They were pulled in to see Mikomi and Cid hovering over the computer. Cid was typing away furiously while Mikomi hovered over his shoulder and pointed out things that he did wrong.
"You typed in the wrong code" Mikomi said.
"I know what I'm doing!" Cid insisted.
Mikomi just sighed and hip checked him out of the way and typed the right code into the computer.
"This is why you never let old people work on machines" she said.
Cid gave her a dirty look as he chewed on his tooth pick.
"You keep that attitude of yours up, Cloud won't be the only one who will punish you for that mouth of yours" he snapped.
"Keep dreaming, gramps" Mikomi said without looking at him.
Cid was about to say something, but stopped when he saw the group come in.
"What's going on?" Sora asked.
"Talk about yer good timin'!" Cid said.
"The MCP is wreaking havoc inside the computer" Mikomi said.
Everyone slumped as they heard that.
Of course the MCP would mess things up while they were gone.
"Not again!" Donald whined.
"According to Leon anyway…" Cid said.
"He went on over to Ansem's study to find out what all the ruckus was all about. Turns out the MCP is using the data in that computer to crank out heartless. The MCP's been messin' around with the town's control system, too"
"That MCP sure doesn't know when to quit, does it?" Yuffie said.
"That's a computer for ya" Mikomi said as she went back to typing at the computer.
Hearing about this shook everyone to the core. If the MCP was creaking heartless within the program, then there was a possibility that they could unleash them to the other worlds.
"How's Tron doing?" Sora asked.
There was no way that he would let this happen…unless the MCP did something to him.
"We can't reach him" Yuffie said.
"We figured he must have been forced into the game grid"
"And it doesn't sound like a particularly fun game either" Cid added.
Everyone shuddered as they remembered the game grid. They were lucky to get out of that alive.
"We'll go check on Tron" Sora said.
Everyone nodded in gratitude.
"We're putting together an MCP Eradication program" Cid said.
"More like I am" Mikomi scoffed.
Cid ignored her.
"And I have a hunch that it's almost finished" he said.
"Well I hope your hunch is right for once" Merlin said.
Cid glared at the wizard.
"Listen, we're gonna need Tron's help when the Eradicator's finished" Yuffie said.
Sora smiled.
"Don't sweat it" he said.
"We'll make sure to tell Tron"
"Remember-we're counting on you" Merlin said.
The group nodded at that.
Just as they were about to leave, Hikari spotted Pooh's storybook. She had collected the lost pages during their travels while the others didn't do anything-again.
She grabbed Sora's arm and dragged him over to the book.
"We have to make sure Pooh and the others are alright" she said.
Sora made a face.
"But Hikari, Tron is waiting for us" he said.
"I know that, but Pooh needs us too" Hikari insisted.
"And this is your fault that the pages went missing"
Sora pouted but allowed Hikari to pull him towards the book.
The sorceress magically put the pages back together.
"That should do it" she said.
"Now let's see if Pooh remembers us"
They stepped back and let the book suck them in to the world within the pages.
/
The keyblade master's landed at Piglet's house when they came into the book. The place was really windy, but that didn't bother them.
Hikari was squealing at the thought of seeing her little pig friend. She just couldn't wait until she could cuddle up with him and hold him in her arms. Maybe this time, she could try to smuggle him out and bring her back to the islands.
Sora just sweat dropped at the sight. He always found it weird when she would go into 'cuteness overload' mode. But since she was happy for the time being, he decided not to say anything.
As they walked closer to the house, they noticed Pooh standing around with Gopher.
"Say, what's wrong, sonny?" Gopher asked.
Pooh turned around and looked at his friend.
"Oh, I was just thinking…and-and wondering" he said.
"You should be skedaddlin' outta here" Gopher pointed out.
"Why?" Pooh asked.
"Why? Because it's Windsday, of course!" Gopher replied.
With that, he went back into his gopher hole.
"Windsday?" Pooh asked.
"Well then, happy Windsday! I think I shall wish everyone a happy Windsday"
He started walking, but stopped when he realized something.
"Oh bother. Let's see now. Who's 'everyone'?"
He sat down and started to think.
That was the site that Sora and Hikari saw when they arrived at the house.
A strong gust of wind blew past them and made an empty honey pot smash into the back of Sora's head.
"Ouch!" he cried.
Hikari stifled a giggle, but it turned into a horrified gasp when she saw Piglet getting blow into the wind like a leaf. The poor pig was terrified as he blew past.
"Oh help, help!" he cried.
"Somebody save me!"
"Piglet!" Hikari cried.
The little pig was able to grab onto a branch of his house and held on for dear life. He looked relieved when he saw Sora and Hikari.
"Sora! Hikari! Help! Please!" he cried.
"Hang on!" Hikari said.
She shoved Sora out of the way and ran quickly towards the house. She held her arms out when she was underneath the poor thing.
"Jump into my arms!" she said.
Piglet did just that, and landed safely within her arms.
Now that he was safe, Hikari had the chance to cuddle with her little friend like there was no tomorrow. She really missed the tiny pig. Piglet didn't seem to mind since he held onto her for dear life anyway.
"There you go" Hikari cooed.
"Thank you, Hikari" Piglet said as he buried his face into her shirt.
He looked up when he saw Pooh coming towards them.
"Oh! Here comes Pooh" he said.
He jumped from Hikari's arms and went up to his best friend.
"Pooh! You're alright" Sora said.
They hoped that retrieving all of the pages would make him remember everyone.
Pooh smiled at them.
"Why hello!" he said.
"It's nice to meet you all. Happy Windsday"
Piglet looked shocked when he heard this. It seemed that Pooh didn't remember anything.
"Nice to m-meet you?" he asked.
"But, Pooh. It's me, Piglet. Don't you remember me?"
"And us too!" Hikari insisted.
"Don't you remember us?"
Pooh gave her a kind smile.
"We are? " he asked.
"Hmmm….it seems I can't remember"
Piglet suddenly became sad at that. His best friend forgot all about him.
"Oh, Pooh. That's v-v-very sad"
Hikari got teary eyed at the sight of Piglet looking so sad while he walked away. Nothing as cute as him should look so heartbroken.
Just then, a strong gust of wind blew by and swept Piglet up.
"Goodbye, Sora! Goodbye, Hikari!" Piglet cried sadly.
"Goodbye, Pooh!"
Hikari looked horrified as her little pig friend grew smaller and smaller.
Piglet!" she cried.
Owl flew by and saw what was going on.
"Oh my. That looks rather fun, doesn't it?" Pooh said.
"I say, it seems we have a rather serious predicament!" Owl said as he landed.
"Hikari, would you mind going after poor Piglet?"
Hikari wore a determined look on her face.
"Nobody as cute as Piglet should get blown away like that!" she said.
"They need to be cuddled with daily!"
Sora sweat dropped at that.
She lost it.
Owl held up a large balloon and gave it to her.
"Use this to reach Piglet. It might help"
Hikari nodded as she grabbed the balloon and picked Pooh up.
"C'mon, Pooh! We have a cute little pig to rescue!"
Pooh just smiled.
"Whatever you say, Miss. Somebody-I-don't-know" he said.
They took off in the air and flew through the breeze. Pooh rode on Hikari's back while she batted away flying objects with her keyblade.
"Out of my way, you stupid beehives!" she cried.
"I've got a piglet to save!"
Pooh smiled as he watched Hikari hacked away at flying objects like a mad woman.
"You're really good, Miss. Somebody-I-don't-know" he said.
Hikari just nodded in response as she dived further towards the ground. She found it odd that she was traveling through the air with only a balloon, but she didn't care. As long as she was able to save Piglet, she wouldn't care if she used a paper airplane. Only if it meant that she could save her little piggy friend.
When she spotted Piglet, she used her magic to push them further in the air.
"Piglet!" Hikari cried.
Piglet saw her and tried to reach out for her.
"Hikari!" he cried.
Hikari gripped Pooh and let go of the balloon so she could lung for Piglet. She managed to wrap her arm around the tiny pig as they crash landed into the tree that made his house. Hikari made sure they didn't get hurt, but as they were crashing through the branches, Piglet was free from her grasp and landed on one of the branches. Hikari landed to the ground with a heavy thud, but made sure Pooh didn't get hurt, before looking up at Piglet.
Since Hikari was a little stunned from crash landing into the ground, Sora decided to rescue Piglet. He held his arms out and stood underneath the branch.
"Jump down, Piglet!" he said.
"I'll catch you!"
Piglet gulped, but did what he was told.
As he was falling, the wind blew him away from Sora and towards Pooh. The teddy bear held his arms up and caught Piglet as he landed towards him.
He gave the pig a kind smile as he sat him down.
"Oh, that was rather frightening" he said.
"I do hope you're alright, Piglet"
Everyone looked surprised when he said Piglet's name.
"Oh, P-Pooh!" Piglet said.
"You remembered my name? You really, truly remembered? "
"Of course, Piglet" Pooh said obviously.
"But today I think I shall call you 'my friend Piglet who is very brave'!"
Piglet looked surprised at that.
"Me? Very brave? No…" he said.
"But it's easy to be brave when I have a wonderful friend like you, Pooh bear!"
Sora and Hikari smiled at the sight. They were relieved that Pooh remembered his friend. Maybe he would be able to remember them as well.
"We're happy for you guys" Sora said.
Pooh nodded and smiled to Hikari.
"Oh, and thank you for rescuing my friend Piglet…Miss. Somebody-I-don't-know" he said.
Sora and Hikari's head slumped at that. So he didn't remember them yet.
"Uh, sure. Don't mention it" Hikari said.
Sora just shrugged and gave her a lop sided grin.
"Hey, we have more pages to go through" he said.
"He'll remember us in no time"
Hikari sighed at that, but agreed with him.
They left Piglet's place and went for the next section of the book.
/
The next stop them made was at Rabbit's house. Everything seemed to be in order with the vegetables growing in the garden to the laundry hanging on the clothes line.
"I wonder if Pooh's here." Hikari asked.
Sora pointed towards something up in the sky and saw Pooh floating on a balloon.
"There he is" he said.
Pooh floated towards the side of Rabbit's house and started to descend. Piglet came by and saw the scene unfold.
"Oh, d-d-d-dear!" he said.
Hikari immediately picked him up and held him close to her chest. Sora just shook his head when he saw that she was in 'la-la land' again.
"C'mon" he said.
They quickly ran to the side of Rabbit's house so they could catch Pooh before he hurt himself.
Pooh landed safely to the ground; however, he landed on Eeyore's house.
Sora and Hikari quickly ran towards them to see if they were alright.
"Eeyore, Pooh. Are you ok?" Sora asked.
Hikari looked at Eeyore's broken house sadly. It seemed whenever they saw him, his house was ruined.
"Gosh, that's too bad, Eeyore" she said.
"After all that work…"
Eeyore had a glum look on his face as usual.
"No matter" he said.
"Most likely would have fallen down anyway"
"We'll help you fix your house up, Eeyore" Piglet said.
Eeyore gave him a slight nod in acknowledgment.
"Thanks for offerin'" he said.
"But I wouldn't want to spoil your fun day, though"
Pooh got and brushed himself off. He smiled at his friends as he trotted over towards them.
"Hello, Piglet" he said.
He looked at Eeyore.
"And hello, Somebody-I-don't-know"
Sora and Hikari sighed sadly.
"Pooh, this is Eeyore" Sora said.
"You know Eeyore, don't you?"
Pooh rubbed his head.
"Um, do I?" he asked.
Everyone figured it wasn't worth trying to correct him. He would figure it out on his own.
"I wonder what's with him?" Hikari asked.
Piglet thought of something.
"Oh! I know" he said.
"Maybe Pooh's tummy is so rumbly that it's making him forget. If we bring him some honey, he's sure to remember!"
That did make sense. People tended to not think straight when they were hungry.
"Well…I guess it's worth a shot" Sora said.
"Might work" Eeyore said.
"Prob'ly not"
"First, we got to find some honey" Hikari said.
They looked around the place to see if they could find a stray honey pot.
"If honey's what you're looking for, I know just the place" Eeyore said.
"Follow me"
Everyone followed the donkey as he headed towards the back of the house. Rabbit was seen piling up a stack of honey pots.
"Splendid, just splendid" Rabbit said to himself.
He walked away to get more honey while the others came around the corner.
Eeyore motioned to the pile of honey pots.
"This is the place I told you about" he said.
"Wow! Look at that" Sora said.
When Pooh saw the honey, he quickly went right to it. He had a one track mind when it came to his honey.
"How yummy for my tummy!" he said.
He plopped himself down in front of the honey and grabbed one of the pots.
Piglet fidgeted in Hikari's arms.
"But doesn't that honey belong to someone?" he asked.
His words fell on deaf ears since Pooh stuffed his face into the honey pot. The contents of the jar were gone within a matter of minutes and Pooh was already onto his next one.
After finishing all of the honey, Pooh was satisfied with his snack and rubbed his large tummy.
"His stomach is going to be in a knot for a while" Hikari said.
Sora nodded in agreement.
Just then, Rabbit came by with another jar of honey to go with his collected. But when he saw that Pooh at them all, he dropped it.
"Oh, no!" he cried.
"My honey!"
Everyone gave him an apologetic grin, clearly showing that they didn't mean for this to happen.
Rabbit had his eyes drilled on Pooh.
"Pooh, did you eat ALL my honey?" he asked.
Pooh just smiled as he rubbed his tummy.
"Oh, hello" he said.
"It's nice to meet you"
Rabbit gave him a confused look. Pooh never acted like this way before.
"What did you say?" he asked.
Pooh didn't pay attention and just focused on the honey pot that Rabbit pick up.
"Is that for me?" he asked.
He went over and took the honey from him and started to eat it.
Rabbit's head fell in defeat. No matter how hard he tried to hide his honey, Pooh would always find it.
"Oh, I was sure I'd found a safe place for it, too…" he said.
Sora rubbed his head nervously.
"Sorry. It's our fault" he said.
"We brought Pooh here" Hikari added.
Rabbit gave them a weak smile.
"Oh, hello Sora and Hikari. It's nice to see you again" he said.
"Same here…we're really sorry" Hikari said.
Rabbit sighed.
"It's quite alright" he said.
"I know Pooh can't be stopped when he gets this hungry"
When Pooh finished his honey, he looked at Rabbit.
"Pardon me, Somebody-I-don't-know" he said.
"Is there any more?"
That startled Rabbit completely. He figured Pooh was in his snack mode before and just wanted to get his honey, but to forget who his friend was, was an entirely different thing.
"Are you feeling alright, Pooh?" he asked.
"Could you have really forgotten about me? What on earth is going on?"
Pooh just rubbed his tummy.
"Is there any more honey?" he asked again.
"You see, my tummy's rumbly"
Rabbit nodded in understanding.
"That's it! He's so hungry, he can't remember a thing!" he insisted.
"We thought that too" Piglet said.
"Then let's stuff this bear full of honey!" Rabbit declared.
Sora and Hikari sweat dropped at that.
"I wouldn't get my hopes up" Sora said.
Hikari nodded.
"But I thought Pooh ate all your honey, Rabbit?" she said.
"Oh, I have more" Rabbit said.
"Must have emergency rations. But I hid then too well"
Sora stretched out his muscles and looked at Hikari.
"Looks like it's my turn to have some fun" he said.
Hikari smirked.
"Knock yourself out" she said.
Sora went up to Pooh and an empty honey pot and brought them with him up a hill. Sora got on the pot like it was a sled and had Pooh riding on his shoulders.
"Here we go"
He slid down the hill while he picked up sections of honey that were hidden all over the place.
Hikari cheered them on while she held onto Piglet tightly.
"Way to go, Sora!" she said.
She looked at Piglet and nuzzled him with her face.
"Would you like to go on a ride, too?" she asked.
Piglet gulped and shook his head.
"No thank you" he said.
"I would rather be held"
Hikari giggled and hugged him.
"You don't have to tell me that twice" she said.
When Sora and Pooh came back, they had tons of honey.
"There now, Pooh" Rabbit said.
"Have just as much as you'd like"
Pooh smiled at the thought of having more honey.
"Why thank you!" he said.
He stuffed his face with the honey while his friends watched him. When he finished, he looked at Rabbit.
"Pardon me, Somebody" he said.
"But do you know where I might find another smackeral or two of honey?"
Everyone's heads fell at that. After eating all of that honey, he still didn't remember them.
Pooh got up and headed for the rabbit hole that lead inside of Rabbit's house.
"My tummy seems to be telling me there's some honey right in there" he said.
He tried climbing through the hole, but he got stuck half way through.
"Oh bother. I'm stuck" Pooh said.
"Not again" Sora muttered.
Rabbit shook his head sadly.
"He still doesn't remember" he muttered.
"What in the world has gotten into Pooh Bear?"
"Whatever it is, we better help him" Hikari said.
"And pull him out so he's not clogging up your house"
Everyone grabbed onto Pooh and tugged him out of the hole.
"One…two…three!"
Pooh went flying and landed on his rump. Everyone quickly ran up to him to make sure he was ok.
"You're ok, Pooh" Sora said.
"I wouldn't be so sure on that" Rabbit said.
"Why, just-look at him! He doesn't even remember who I am. Perhaps it's all this blustery wind, or-or maybe he actually needs more honey! Or he's-he's sleepwalking and-and dreaming"
It seemed that Rabbit was becoming depressed with being forgotten. Even though Pooh got on his nerves for stealing all of his honey, he was still his friend.
Pooh smiled and went up to Rabbit.
"Well, if I am dreaming-which I suppose I could be-I hope I get to the part where you invite me to lunch again very soon, Rabbit"
Rabbit looked surprised, yet relieved that Pooh remembered him.
"You called me 'Rabbit'!" he cried.
"Well, of course, Rabbit" Pooh replied.
"What about Eeyore?" Piglet asked.
"Do you remember Eeyore, too, Pooh?"
Pooh nodded and looked at the little donkey.
"Hello there, Eeyore" he said.
"It's ever so nice to see you today"
"Thanks for noticing me, Pooh Bear" Eeyore said.
Sora and Hikari looked at Pooh hopefully. If he remembered Rabbit and Eeyore, then he had to remember them.
"And hello to you, too" Pooh said.
"Somebodies- I – don't-know"
The keyblade master's sighed sadly. So he still didn't remember.
"Well, at least he remembered Rabbit and Eeyore" Sora said.
"And we still have a few pages to go through"
With that, they left Rabbit's house and headed for the next section of the book, which happened to be Kanga and Roo's home.
/
Pooh and Piglet were already at the kangaroo home when they got there.
"Hi!" Sora said.
Piglet greeted them when they got closer.
"Hello, Somebodies- I-don't-know" Pooh added.
Kanga bounced over to them and held up a bottle of medicine.
"Eeyore told me Pooh wasn't quite himself" Kanga said.
"I thought this might be just what the poor dear needed"
"Yeah, I hope it'll make Pooh feel better!" Roo said.
Just then, Tigger came bouncing along, singing the tigger song.
He stopped bouncing when he saw the medicine bottle that Kanga was holding.
"A present!" he cried.
"For me? Why, presents are what Tiggers like best! And it's not even my birthday!"
He took the bottle and started hopping away.
"But Tigger! That's not for you!" Kanga insisted.
Sora quickly went after and stopped him before he left. They explained that the medicine was for Pooh and that he forgot about everyone.
"You're saying Pooh even forgot about ME!" Tigger said.
"Yes, Tigger" Piglet said.
"That bottle you thought was a present was medicine to make Pooh feel better" Sora said.
Tigger looked at the medicine bottle and just waved it off.
"Aww, who needs medicine?" he stated.
"Why, some tiggeriffic bouncing will jog his memory for sure!"
He bounced around them and looked at Pooh.
"Well, Pooh?"
Pooh smiled and nodded.
"That looks like fun, Somebody-I-don't-know" he said.
They all went over to the giant trampoline that Roo had in his backyard and got on it.
Sora had Pooh on his shoulders while Hikari held onto Piglet. The little pig shook at the thought of being so high up in the air.
"I don't like this" he said.
Hikari just gave him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you" she said.
"You're safe with me"
Piglet felt reassured when he heard that and snuggled into Hikari's arms.
Tigger and Roo jumped on the trampoline and started bouncing.
"Ready everyone?" Tigger asked.
Everyone nodded.
"Then let's bounce!"
Everyone started bouncing flipped through the air. Sora managed to flip through the air while he still had Pooh on his shoulders. Hikari giggled as she just bounced so Piglet wouldn't get scared. Tigger and Roo laughed as they jumped higher and higher into the sky. Everyone was having fun as they tried to see who would bounce the highest.
When they got tired, they got off and headed back to the front of the house.
Tigger looked proud about his idea and just had a feeling that it worked.
"I bet you remember me now, don't you, buddy-bear!" he said.
Pooh just looked at him.
"Well, I remember that bouncing always makes me hungry" he stated.
Tigger hung his head in defeat.
"All that bouncing and he still doesn't remember me?" he asked sadly.
"Well then, I guess boucin's not the answer"
He slowly walked away in a dejected matter.
"It makes a Tigger almost never wanna bounce again…" he muttered.
Pooh went up to him.
"But Tigger. I always thought that bouncing was what Tiggers did best" he said.
Tigger whipped around with a huge grin on his face.
"Pooh boy!" he cried.
"Why remember me. You do remember you ol' buddy Tigger after all!'
He started bouncing again in a joyous matter. It was a happy moment for all of them. Well, sort of. Even though Pooh remember all of his friends, he still didn't remember Sora and Hikari.
They just hoped that he would remember soon.
/
That night, as Pooh slept, he had a strange dream.
He dreamed that he and his friends were sitting by a hill at night and were waving good-bye to these two individuals.
Pooh couldn't see who they were, but he saw that they were a boy and a girl.
"I wonder who they are?" Pooh asked himself.
When he couldn't think who they were, he just drifted off to sleep.
"Oh well" he thought.
"Perhaps…I'll remember tomorrow"
/
Sora and Hikari found themselves in a cave on the next page. It was dark and scary, which make Hikari a little skittish, but she didn't let it show.
Everyone was in the cave surprisingly, but they noticed that Pooh wasn't with them.
"Where's Pooh?" Sora asked.
"He went in there" Piglet said as he pointed deeper into the cave.
"Do you think there might be a jagular hiding inside?" Rabbit asked.
"Jagular…well, now" Owl said.
"That reminds me of when my dear cousin Alphonse-"
"Say, why are you all sitting around here?" Hikari interrupted.
She figured no one wanted to hear Owl's story and she was curious as to why everyone was just standing around doing nothing.
"If you're so worried about Pooh, let's go find him!" Sora insisted.
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Tigger said.
"Yeah, let's go!" Roo cheered.
"But if there really is a jagular, we'd better think this through" Rabbit pointed out.
Sora pumped his fist.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of anything that comes in the way" he said.
Hikari used her keyblade as a flashlight and had the tip light up.
"Follow us!" she cheered.
They carefully went through the creepy cave in search for their teddy bear friend. It was a little dangerous with the loose rocks that fell and a couple of bees that flew by, but other than that, nothing bad happened.
Sora and Hikari made sure everyone was together so they wouldn't get lost in the cave. They didn't want to do a search for anyone else but Pooh.
After much searching, they finally found Pooh sitting on a stone slab in this crystal like area.
"Pooh! There you are! " Sora cried.
Everyone ran up to him in relief.
"We looked everywhere for you" Hikari said.
Pooh looked at them when he stopped thinking.
"I was looking for very dear friends of mine that I remember that I made a very important promise to" he said.
Sora and Hikari gave him a weak smile. He was willing to risk himself getting hurt just so he could find his friends.
"So, did you find them?" Hikari asked as she knelt down in front of him.
Pooh shook his head sadly.
"No, I looked and I looked. But they don't seem to be anywhere" he said.
Tigger suddenly pounced him to the ground.
"Oh, Pooh boy!" he cried.
"So there you are"
Pooh got up and dust himself off.
"But Tigger, did you have to bounce me so…bounce-ily?" he asked.
Tigger just laughed good heartedly.
"Gosh, I thought a jagular had gotten ya!" he said.
Pooh gasped.
"Oh dear" he said.
"I hadn't thought of that. I do hope a jagular hasn't gone and gobbled up my friends!"
Everyone gave him a sympathetic look.
"Now try to remember, Pooh" Kanga said.
"Aren't Sora and Hikari the ones you're looking for?"
Sora and Hikari gave their teddy bear friend a hopeful look. They just wished that it was them that he was trying to find.
Pooh's tummy started to rumble, which startled him.
"Oh! The jagular!" he cried.
Sora and Hikari chuckled softly.
"No, it's just your tummy grumbling" Hikari said.
Sora poked his tummy to prove their point.
"You must be hungry. C'mon…let's head home and see if we can find you some honey" he said.
Pooh rubbed his tummy at the thought of getting honey.
"It'd like that Sora and Hikari" he said.
The keyblade master's looked beyond surprised and happy when Pooh said their names.
"Pooh! You-you finally remembered!" Hikari cried.
Pooh tilted his head.
"Remembered what, Sora and Hikari?"
They just gave him a small smile.
"Pooh" Sora said.
Pooh smiled at them.
"I like it ever so much when you're cheerful" he said.
Sora and Hikari smiled softly at that.
"We do, too" Hikari said.
They held their hands out to him.
"C'mon, let's go home" Sora said.
They all walked out of the creepy cave and headed back for Pooh's home so he could have some honey.
It was good to know that Pooh finally remembered them after so long.
/
The last place that Sora and Hikari went to was at the starry hill. Memories of when they all sat up on the hill and watched the starts went through their head.
"I never realized how much I missed this place until now" Hikari said.
Sora nodded with a wistful smile on his face.
"Oh bother!"
They keyblade masters looked up at the hill to see Pooh sitting by the tree with a honey pot stuck on his head.
"Are you alright?" Sora and Hikari called out.
"Sora? Hikari? Is that you?" Pooh asked.
"Help!"
They quickly ran up to the hill and went where Pooh was at.
Sora pulled the pot off his head while Hikari cleaned the honey that got stuck to his face.
"Thank you" Pooh said.
They sat him down on a fallen log and looked up at the moon for a bit.
"So, what were you doing here?" Hikari asked.
"I was thinking" Pooh said.
"Perhaps there's a way to make it so you both won't go away"
They both looked at him.
"You mean a way to make us stay?" Sora asked.
Pooh nodded.
"Yes. Would there be such as a thing as a way to make it so you won't both go away again?" he asked.
They both looked at him sadly.
They figured he would think of this. After he remembered them, he was probably afraid that he would forget about them again.
"Pooh…" they said.
Hikari patted his head.
"Don't worry" she reassured him.
"We promise we'll come back and visit you now and then"
"Could you make it 'now and now' instead?" Pooh asked.
"That seems a bit better to me"
They chuckled weakly.
Pooh looked at them.
"Sora, Hikari, if I go looking for you, will I find you both?" he asked.
Sora pointed to Pooh's heart.
"We'll always be with you-right here" he said.
"You don't have to go anywhere. Just stay here, and you can see us anytime you want"
Pooh placed a hand over his heart.
"You mean I just have to stay right here?" he asked.
They nodded.
"Yep, that's all" Sora said.
"Would you promise?" Pooh asked.
"Promise" they said.
Hikari pulled out the blue ribbon she got from Halloween Town and held it up. She was planning on keeping it for herself to remember Riku, but now that she thought of it, Pooh needed it more. Besides, she still had her red ribbon that Riku gave her.
"Here, Pooh" she said softly.
She held up his paw and tired the ribbon into a bow.
"As long as you have this on, you'll always have a part of us here. We'll always be connected to each other, no matter what"
Pooh looked at the ribbon, then at Hikari.
"Promise?" he asked again.
Hikari nodded.
"I promise"
Piglet suddenly appeared and jumped on the log.
"I promise too!" he cried.
Everyone came over to the log as well.
"And so do Roo and I" Kanga said.
"We sure do!" Roo added.
"You're welcome to visit us anytime, Sora and Hikari" Rabbit said.
"Thanks" Hikari said.
"After all, I must tell you of my Uncle Albert's adventures at sea" Owl said.
"Guess you'll be stayin' a while" Eeyore said.
Everyone laughed at that.
"Goodbye, Sora. Goodbye, Hikari" Gopher said.
"If you ever get lonely, just start bouncin' and think of your pal Tigger!" Tigger said.
"We will, Tigger" Sora said.
Sora and Hikari stood up after they looked at the stars for a bit.
"You're leaving?" Pooh asked..
Sora nodded sadly.
"Yes. We really have to go" Sora said.
Pooh gave them a reassuring smile.
"Well, I won't be sad, because you both will always be here forever and ever"
He touched the ribbon to prove his point.
Sora and Hikari nodded.
"And all of you…are right here too" Hikari said as she pointed towards her heart.
Everyone smiled at that. Sora smiled too, but stopped when he saw that Hikari was still holding Piglet.
"Hikari" he warned.
Hikari blinked, then laughed nervously when she was caught.
"I, um, must have forgot that I was still holding him" she said.
Sora gave her a stern look.
"Put him down" he said.
"He can't come with"
Hikari gave him the pouty look.
"But-but he's so cute and little!" she insisted.
Sora pointed to the ground, showing that he wasn't having it.
Hikari sighed and placed Piglet on the ground.
"Bye, Piglet" she said.
Piglet gave her a hug when he was put down.
"Bye, Hikari. I'll miss you" he said.
Hikari got all teary eyed at this and had to let Sora drag her away before she decided to kidnap him again.
Everyone waved goodbye to their keyblade friends as they left the book.
It was a heartbreaking moment, but it had to be done.
They were sad, but they remembered that they would always be together in their hearts.
/
With the pages finally resorted back to the way they were, the book was finally complete again.
The once torn cover was now repaired with the image of Sora and Hikari sitting with Pooh and looking up at the starry sky.
Even if they weren't in the book, the memories they made would be forever in the pages along with their friends.
/
A/N: I thought it was funny that Hikari was trying to smuggle Piglet out of the book. I guess even she can't help herself when it comes to cute stuff.
Please review and tell me what you think!
Ja ne!