Kingdom Hearts III: The Heart's Greatest Weapon
Chapter 51: Haunting Memories
The next day, Sora told his friends about their experiences in Neon City. Kairi and Riku were a little surpirsed to see that this world was like the complete opposite of the quiet and calming surroundings of Destiny Islands.
"Believe me. It must've been so loud there when we arrived that I thought my ears were gonna go out or something." Sora said. Jack said it was quite the pleasurable trip, considering he snuck aboard and all.
"Yeah. Remind me to ask Cid to set up a security camera or something around the ship." Sora said. The others chuckled.
"What? It didn't go so bad." Zelos said.
"Really? Since when did we invite any of you to come along anyway?" Donald asked. Zelos fell silent after that. But just then, Lilo and Raine came in with news to tell.
"You guys won't believe what we saw in town a little while ago. There's a new hot spring spa opened up in town! We saw Leon and the others down there." Lilo said.
"Wow? Really?" Kairi asked. Raine nodded, saying they saw quite a few people down there already.
"Maybe we should take a look. We've been working hard lately and it might do us some good." Genis said. He glanced towards Sora, hoping he agree and he did. Sora asked Riku if he wanted to join them but they couldn't spot him.
"Hey. Where's Riku?" Genis asked.
"I believe he went out a little while ago. He said he was doing a sweep for any Heartless." Presea said. Zelos looked away and figured Riku was too serious. Meanwhile, Riku had just entered the center of town. He took a look around, Keyblade at his side.
"Hmm. Looks clear around here. But then again, it's been a little quiet since we had to fight that weird doctor. I better take a good look around." Riku said. Recalling his blade, Riku went to look everywhere around town. All the while, a small girl wearing a black coat was watching her.
"There he is. The big meanie." she said. As Riku passed by a fruit cart and it's vendor, the girl reached for a tomato. She followed Riku and then threw it towards him. It nailed Riku in the back of his head.
"Ow. Hey. Who threw that?" Riku groaned. He looked back and saw the girl.
"Huh?" Riku thought.
"I finally found you big meanie man!" she shouted. Riku started to feel really confused now.
"What? What are you talking about?" Riku asked. The girl started to show a pouting face.
"Don't act that way with me! You know what you said to me!" she shouted. Riku groaned.
"Listen. I don't know you. You obviously have the wrong person. So, see ya." Riku said. He then began to walk off, but the little girl grabbed his leg. Riku looked down and groaned.
"You're not getting away from me! You're gonna pay!" she shouted. Riku growled.
"Great. Now I'm starting to hate kids." Riku thought. While Riku had to deal with her, Sora and the others arrived at the new hot spring. They looked around the interior of the lobby and saw a lot of the other citizens there.
"You were right. This place really is popular. Not to mention it's really amazing here." Emil said. Zelos chuckled.
"And look at all the ladies around here. Old Zelos feels lucky today." Zelos chuckled before Sheena hit him hard in the head.
"Better watch it Romeo or every woman is gonna do to you what I just did." Sheena groaned. Zelos huffed and said he bet Sheena was just jealous. Without warning, Sheena grabbed Zelos by his shirt collar and dragged him away. Sora and the others watched.
"Should we be worrying about them?" Sora asked. Lloyd sighed.
"No. Don't worry about them." Lloyd said. Colette chuckled.
"What about you Lloyd? Should we worry about you peeking at us too?" Colette asked. Lloyd gasped and started blushing red. Sora glanced back at him.
"Ssshh! Colette! I told you! It's not what you think it was!" Lloyd stuttered. Sora figured they should check in and Genis agreed. Back in town, Riku had to endure the little girl constantly shouting and having hissy fits.
"Hey kid? Why don't you go back to your mom or wherever you came from? You're starting to annoy me." Riku groaned. The girl groaned.
"Hey! I'm not done with you yet! Just apologize already!" she exclaimed. Riku said he shouldn't have to apologize for anything and started to walk faster. But the girl was right beside him still.
"You do TOO! You called me a fake! You even said my Keyblade was a sham!" she shouted. Riku groaned, swatting his face.
"Great. Why do I have to....wait. Keyblade? A sham? But.....that.....wait a minute." Riku thought. He quickly remembered his confrontation with Xion at Beast's Castle and what he said to her. He even remembered her crying afterwards. Riku looked back and the girl seemed to bear a slight resemblance to Xion.
"Wait a second. How do you know about that? Who are you?" Riku asked. The small girl looked at him.
"My name is Xi. And you still have to apolo....hey!" the girl exclaimed. Riku suddenly grabbed the girl by her arm.
"Come on. You're coming with me." Riku said. The girl started to whine and yell as Riku dragged her. Her heels skidded across the ground. After putting up too much of a fuss, Riku quickly picked up Xi and carried her under his arm. Xi groaned.
"I've got to talk to Ansem about this. Is.....Is this girl really Xion?" Riku thought, glaring at her. Changing back to Sora and the others, Raine, Presea and Lilo were relaxing in the sauna. The warm steam relaxed them.
"Now this is what everyone needs now and then. A chance to unwind from all the problems we've been facing." Raine said. Presea agreed, adding another piece of coal to the fire. Lilo added some water over the stones and steam filled the room. Elsewhere, Sora was playing cards with Genis and Lloyd.
"All right Genis. Fork it over. I called six and I saw you draw a six before." Sora said. Genis groaned, not really wanting to give Sora another pair.
"Wow Sora. You're on a roll today." Lloyd said. Sora chuckled.
"I just got luck. Nothing to it." Sora chuckled. Meanwhile, Jack was standing idly in a heated pool. He scratched his head, still wearing his clothes. With him was Richter, resting peacefully near the edge.
"Now how is this relaxing?" Jack asked himself. While Jack sat and tried to figure things out, Riku finally reached Ansem's Study with Xi still kicking around in his arm. Chip and the others were looking over some of Ansem's notes on his table as he was surprised by Riku entering.
"Riku? What seems to be the trouble?" Ansem asked. Riku put Xi down and told her to stay.
"I don't have to listen to you! Xi can take care of herself!" Xi shouted.
"Ansem? I think something might have happened when Xion became human. I ran into this girl and she...." Riku explained. For a while, Riku told Ansem everything that had occured.
"So, you believe this girl somehow has ties to Xion?" Ansem asked. Riku nodded. Ansem took a good look at Xi's face and could too see the resemblance of Xion in her.
"Young lady? How do you know about the Keyblade?" Ansem asked.
"I know because I do. This meanie picked on Xi. He called her a fake!" Xi shouted. Riku covered her mouth before she started up again.
"I see. Riku? I think you are onto something here. From what I know, this girl could actually be related to Xion." Ansem said. Riku asked how that would be possible.
"From what I can only assume, when Xion was reborn as a human, all of her negative emotions while still the replica of Organization XIII were separated from her. Thus causing them to be reborn as a new person, young Xi." Ansem said. Riku looked down at Xi.
"That makes sense....I think. What can I do to get her to reunite with Xion?" Riku asked. Ansem sighed.
"I do not think Xion and Xi should be fused again. If they do, Xi's negative emotions might have an overwhelming change on Xion's current personality and make her the same as when she attacked you and Sora." Ansem said. Riku sighed.
"Well, what are we going to do with her then?" Riku asked. Just then, an alarm went off inside Ansem's room. It was a new Heartless detector that Cid installed. As Ansem checked the readings, Riku saw Xi ran off.
"Oh geez! Xi!" Riku shouted.
"Riku! Hurry! Head down to the Bailey! A Heartless has appeared!" Ansem exclaimed. Riku groaned and raced off. Not knowing about the problem, Sora was slowly entering a steamed bath. Once he was in, he sighed and gently rested against the edge.
"This place is great. Too bad Riku wasn't here. He really needs to wind down." Sora said. Just then, he heard someone giggle. He turned around and saw Kairi, wearing a dark red bathing suit.
"Yeah. Riku's too stiff." Kairi chuckled. Sora sighed as Kairi entered besides him.
"Hey Kairi. You almost startled me for a second. I thought I got in the girl's bath by mistake." Sora said. Kairi chuckled.
"Don't worry. This isn't the women's bath. If it was, you'd be in for it." Kairi chuckled. Sora soon chuckled too before both fell silent. The two only could glance at one another before Sora finally said anything.
"So, learn anything about your memory yesterday?" Sora asked. Kairi sighed.
"Not really. I couldn't figure out a thing. Sora? Do you think I'm all right? Do you think I'm coming down with something?" Kairi asked. Sora shook his head.
"From all I can guess, you're just fine Kairi." Sora said.
"That's good. But, while I was out, I was so worried that I never see you again." Kairi said. Sora glanced at Kairi.
"I....I don't ever want to lose you Sora. You and Riku really mean a lot to me." Kairi said. Sora sighed.
"Kairi? You'll never lose me or Riku. We're your best friends and are always going to be there for you when you need us. All right?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded. She slowly hugged Sora.
"Thanks Sora." Kairi whispered. Sora smiled and hugged her too. But as they did, someone was spying from a distant. It was Zelos, peeking at young Kairi.
"Well, what do we have here? Finally, we get to see just what kind of young lady Kairi is." Zelos muttered. But just behind him was Lloyd, Emil and Tenebrae.
"Not again. Zelos. Cut it out." Lloyd groaned.
"Yeah Zelos. You almost got caught peeping at Marta and the others before, so stop while you can." Emil said. Zelos hushed him.
"Relax. I'm not peeping. I'm just listening to what they're saying." Zelos said. Lloyd groaned.
"That's another way of peeping Zelos." Lloyd grumbled. Zelos groaned.
"Excuse me bud. But did I ask you to define "peeping" to me? I don't think I did." Zelos said. Just then, Sora could faintly hear Zelos.
"What the? Who's there?" Sora called. Lloyd and Emil gasped. As Lloyd fled, Emil followed close by. Zelos started to run but Sora called his Keyblade and casted Blizzard, trapping Zelos' leg in ice.
"Zelos? What the...? Were you peeking at Kairi?!" Sora shouted. Zelos groaned.
"No! Sora! Wait a second! It's....It's not what you think! I....I was....oh man!" Zelos shouted. Back down at the Bailey, Riku hurried to the scene and there was Xi. She was avoiding and battling the Heartless, a Large Armor.
"Xi! Get away from there!" Riku shouted. Xi looked back before suddenly getting swat away by the Heartless. She tumbled back into a wall and crashed into it.
"All right. You've asked for it! Hey Heartless!" Riku called. The Heartless glared at him before Riku attacked. He unleashed a fast combo towards it and sent it skidding back. He looked back at Xi.
"Xi, don't worry about this. Just stay back and let me handle this." Riku said. Xi groaned.
"Hey! I was doing fine by myself!" Xi shouted "I came to deal with Heartless before and that's what I'll....!" But Riku reminded her that was only because she was originally an Organization XIII pawn.
"You're not strong enough to fight this thing. Just let me handle this!" Riku shouted. Xi groaned.
"No way! Besides, why you being so nice to me anyway ya big meanie?!" Xi asked. Riku groaned.
"Because.....you're right. I do need to apologize." Riku said. Xi looked at Riku, surprised by his words.
"Wh....What?" Xi asked. As the Heartless watched Riku, Riku turned and faced Xi.
"I now get where all of your hate for me came from. You're Xion's emotions, all the negative ones that she felt ever since I beat her. And it really sparked when I called her a fake. But now, since she's a human and helping us....I really think I was wrong to call her that." Riku said. Xi was utterly speechless.
"So....Xi? Though you're not directly the one I said it too, I'm sorry." Riku said. As Xi stood there quietly, the Heartless came at Riku again. It roared and lunged for him. But when Riku was expecting it to attack, it actually leaped over him and came for Xi. Xi gasped.
"Hey!" Riku shouted. With the Heartless drawing near, Riku quickly rushed for Xi and grabbed her before the Heartless punched him directly in the side.
"Riku!" Xi shouted as the two tumbled across the floor. Xi looked up at Riku, seeing something that she didn't see before. Riku got back up.
"All right you. Attacking a innocent girl? That's not very polite." Riku said. The Heartless pounded it's chest and came at him from above. But Riku moved Xi away in time before it came crashing down.
"Xi? Just stand back. I'll protect you." Riku said. Xi said nothing more as Riku came at the Large Armor. Though the Heartless surprised Riku a few times, he was able to finish it off and sent the Heartless crashing down.
"There. Now that ought to....geh!" Riku groaned, suddenly feeling like his knee was cramping up. Xi gasped and rushed over as Riku dropped to one of his knees.
"Riku! Your....Your leg!" Xi gasped. Riku looked at her.
"It's okay Xi. A little price to pay for what I said to you.....when you were still a replica." Riku said. He chuckled a bit.
"What's so funny?" Xi asked.
"Just.....I'm just remembering how much differently I think of you now. When I first met you, I....I never imagined we would meet again and....that I wouldn't have to regret anything I said. But...." Riku said, imaging Xion in his mind.
"Now that you're helping us and getting to make new friends, I never should have called you or your Keyblade a fake. I'm....I'm sorry." Riku said. Just then, Xi rested her hand on Riku's.
"It's......I'm sorry too Riku. You...You protected me, even after.....all that mean stuff I did to you." Xi said. Riku chuckled.
"Time changes people Xi. And it looks like I happened....to change for the better." Riku said. Xi smiled, shedding a small tear. Just then, it seemed like her body was breaking apart into small balls of light. Leaving only a small tear shaped jewel behind, Xi vanished completely.
"Thank you.....Riku." Xi's voice echoed. Riku found the small jewel and considered it a "token" of good will and the settlement of Xion's negative emotions. Riku put the small jewel in his pocket.
"Well, I....better go see how Sora's doing." Riku thought. Still being able to walk, Riku headed over towards the hot spring, hearing from a passing Leon as to where Sora was currently. He found Sora relaxing in a bath with some of the other boys.
"Hey Riku! There you are." Sora called. Riku chuckled.
"What are you doing Sora? Shouldn't you be training?" Riku asked.
"Hey. Even heroes deserve a break now and then. Come on in." Genis said. Riku figured he take up that invite and soon came in with the others. He tried his best to hide his injured knee, thinking Sora didn't have to know about Xi or the Heartless. As he relaxed and unwound with his friends, Xi's crystal was seen with Riku's folded clothes, giving a small glimpse of light.
TO BE CONTINUED...
