A/N: This Chapter was originally meant to be a flashback epilogue for another chapter, but it eventually got a little too dragged out so I decided to make this a standalone chapter instead.
[Location: Unknown; Time: Approximately 16 years prior to the events of Kingdom Killed I]
The scenery was breathtaking in every single way. The streets were basically made of marble, the buildings were beautifully sculpted and highlighted with gold, the sky was so peaceful and vibrant with its crimson colored clouds yet borderline everlasting golden sunlight, a definite far cry from most other worlds, and most of all of the sky is that it was all around at all times on account of the fact that this world was perpetually floating in the air. Whether it be by some unknown and unseen technological advances of this world or if it's through some powerful and ancient magic in the works remains unclear… at least to a certain someone visiting this world from…let's say far, far away. This person was a rather…. 'well-developed' female and is wearing a light violet coat akin to those used and worn by The Organization, hood up and everything. This individual decided to pop by over to a nearby library and peruse some of this world's history and knowledge, her curiosity taking a strangely strong hold on her. After about three hours of studying this place's backstory, one tome in particular nabbed her like a fish onto a barbed hook. As she grabbed it, a familiar voice run in her head, a conversation that had happened not too terribly long ago either.
"I stumbled upon a most unique world. Tranquil and simple." A male voice rung in her head. As she pulled it out from the bookshelf, a sinister looking symbol was seen on the front cover of the tome
"What knowledge did that one bear? Anything like the Keyblade Graveyard?" A woman's voice said, most likely her own. Against her better judgement, the woman opened the tome and began reading its contents; eyes widening by the story that it details…or perhaps, of events yet to come.
"Despite its humble nature in comparison to the Graveyard, this world in particular harbored a foul tale…" the male voice responded. As the woman grew more and more anxious, she removed the hood from her head and underneath…was none other than Ragyo Kiryuin herself back in her younger years, undergoing a quick tour of the worlds herself to see what knowledge she could pry from them. The conversation she is recalling is no doubt one she had with Xehanort.
"And what madness did this world had to hide from others?" Ragyo's voice from back then asked. In the present, Ragyo eyes were continuing to widen as she kept soaking up its contents like a sponge into water.
"A prophecy. One known to very few as 'The Rise of the Dark Lord' or as more popularly darker name 'The Day the Skies Bleed'." Xehanort's voice from back then elaborated. As Ragyo continued to read the tome, a particular passage caught her undivided attention. As she sought to continue reading, she heard a commotion coming from outside. She quickly snapped back to immediate reality and rushed out into the streets and followed the flow of foot traffic. She asks one of the world's locals "What's going on?"
"It's happening again… the same human woman from before." The civilian replied with sheer sadness and horror on his face.
"Before?" Ragyo asked
"Yeah, she was a victim of some sort of dark cult about nine months ago. With all the evidence around us at the time we could only assume that they-" the civilian continued
"Don't say it…" Ragyo said, deciding it would be wise to just cut the person off right there and then. Ragyo then thought to herself "Wait a minute! Nine months!? That could only mean-!" The more she walked the more she then realized that her destination to see the source of this turmoil was the large cathedral; this world's central highlight. As she was slowly making her way to the cathedral, Ragyo's mind sunk back to the conversation she had with Xehanort "What will befall us when this prophecy is fulfilled?" Ragyo's voice from then asked
"A terrible and terrifying force is unleashed upon the realm of light and all civilization…will be forced to bend to a most unholy deity. Which is THE very reason I must forge the x-blade!" Xehanort revealed "I must use its power, and in turn that of Kingdom Hearts itself, to wipe out the wicked worshipers of this evil being that litter and pollute their worlds, lay waste to his shrines of sinful rites and rituals, and with luck…smite the blasphemous one himself."
"And the other guy; Braig was it? Does he know?" Ragyo from then asked
"There's a wise saying that goes 'The fewer the people that knows a secret, the less likely that secret will get out'." Xehanort from then told her.
"Perhaps it's for the best then. He always came off to me as somewhat…sketchy." Ragyo back then retorted. In the here and now of thing as Ragyo got closer to the cathedral, she could swear that she can hear the sound of screaming, like someone is going through the worst kind of pain imaginable. The rape victim perhaps?
"Yes, the 'Dark Lord' as I mentioned has eyes and ears almost everywhere, but thankfully worlds that reside in between the realms are out of his reach like Traverse Town or the Training Grounds that I've shared with my old friend Eraqus. I can promise you that there are probably more than just those select few, but it would take one quite some time to sift through them." Xehanort educated Ragyo on the potential perception of the looming threat.
"Then it is safe to say that this boondocks world known as Twilight Town is among that number?" Ragyo from then asked worried over the possibility of interdimensional eavesdropping.
"You needn't worried. The answer to that question is in the name itself." Xehanort answered, relieving some excessive tension from Ragyo's part
"Then…we can start our secret war against destiny itself in earnest?" Ragyo from then inquired
"Indeed…" Xehanort answered with confidence in his voice. As Ragyo approached the center of the panic, she then she's a dark haired woman lying on the central alter, clearly the source of the pained howls that echoed the halls. Over 90% of her body looks like it was once scorched from head to toe at some point and blood trickled down her legs. Her suspicions were true after all. She took a quick look back into the book she had only just remembered taking with her before closing it and hiding it again. Ragyo then asked the woman's caretaker "Was this woman burned by any chance?"
"Child, the pain she is going through is far worse than you could possibly fathom. Her very soul was practically scorched by the most unholiest of hellfire." The old woman answered
"I've heard rumors about this happening almost a year ago as well as…certain advances… Does that mean…?" Ragyo asked slowly, only to receive a few up and down nods in response. Within seconds, the screaming then resumed and was even more intense than it was before she got to the building. Though granted she wasn't this up close, it was still a clear sign that she was in even greater suffering than she was a few minutes ago. The caretaker thought it was best to shoo Ragyo away, for both their sakes, to which Ragyo surprisingly complied with by walking a few feet away, leaning her back onto a nearby marble pillar, and crossed her arms. "Could her agony possibly be linked to…the child? Is the being she's in labor with leeching off her mother's life force? Like a parasite? It's certainly a far cry from normal pregnancies. And I should know since I did it twice." Ragyo thought to herself.
"Keep pushing. You're almost through it, Angela. Just a little more." The caretaker said, encouraging the woman in question that she's nearly through the worst of it all.
"Angela…I shall remember that name." Ragyo thought to herself. As she decided to slip into her head, remembering some of the good times she had with Xehanort, a newer, far younger, higher pitched cry can be heard from where Angela was at. "A younger voice now… The infant by chance?" Ragyo decided to get off the marble support and check on the 'Angela Problem' and what she saw made someone as cold-blooded as her get chills, straight down to the marrow and all. The baby looked as though the very same hellfire that once scorched the mother had also done the same with the baby as well. The baby's skin is an ashen color, but what really stood out in Ragyo's point of view…were the crimson satanic markings that littered the infant's flesh from head to toe. Ragyo felt the urge to pull out the book she got from that library and much to her shock… the marking on the baby's forehead and that on the front cover of the book she picked up…were an exact match! Ragyo Kiryuin doesn't show fear, ever. But this mere child, who just crawled out of the womb not even five minutes ago, was making her rattle to the core. She felt as though this infant could possibly even kill her or Xehanort…just by looking at them. Ragyo was putting her left hand to her nose to block out the pungent darkness that this infant reeked of; darkness of which that makes Xehanort look like an air freshener. When the child opened her eyes and saw Ragyo holding her hand to her nose with her feared expression, the baby began to cry and suddenly, the entire chapel began to rumble! "WH-What's going on, Grand Master!?" She asked frantically
"The newborn…! She's…everything that we feared she would be…" the old woman answered
"The rumbling is coming…from this infant crying!?" Ragyo thought to herself. The fear in Ragyo's eyes only got worse. In a desperate attempt to quell the current chaos, Ragyo drew a Life Fiber Dagger, with her intentions as clear as day: She seeks to erase the infant from existence, which only got the baby to intensify her wails; with corresponding results. Despite her aims towards the child, everyone was too busy trying to save themselves from the pieces of the sanctum that came crumbling down to even be bothered with Ragyo and what she planned to do. The old lady tried to stop her but was knocked out clean with a simple neck chop. Ragyo was kind enough to catch the elder before she met with the floor. All that was left was Angela and that…'thing'. Just as Ragyo was about to thrust the knife into the child's flesh, the entire blade down to damn near the hilt was sliced right off. The old woman was as unarmed as always and nobody else dared to intervene. Sweat began to run down her forehead as she came to a logical conclusion: The infant that she sought to kill! "Im-Impossible! If this girl can cause this kind of destruction as an infant…I dread of what she would be capable of as an adult! Just as a teenager is enough to send chills down my spine!" No longer wanting to be put in the spotlight and crossfire any longer than necessary, Ragyo took the book and made a beeline for the exit of the church. She manages to escape before the overhead doorway gave way and cuts off the occupants of the cathedral from the outside world. With most of everyone distracted by this incident, Ragyo then heads for an alleyway, opened a dark corridor, and escaped back to her world of Honno-ji City.
[Back at Honno-ji City]
A Dark Corridor materialized in Ragyo's personal quarters and out from the gate came the woman in question herself. She made her way towards her secret room in the OLF's Chambers. She entered the password for it and made haste down the stairs. She had to make sure that there was as little of a chance to be eavesdropped as possible so she made sure that the console that grants entry into this part of the building retracted and that the hidden doorway closed once she was in the stairwell. After a minute of silence, the connection was complete and successful. Xehanort had appeared in front of her in his usual demeanor "Ah…you have returned. What troubles you tonight, my dear Ragyo?" Xehanort asked. Ragyo was still in a panicked state from what she had gone through. He then asked "It's not like you to be so quiet like this, my dear. You're not even trying to striptease me. So unlike you indeed. What happened before you reached out to me this time?"
"'It' has begun, my liege…!" Ragyo answered in a rushed tone as she held up the tome she picked up from the world she visited
"Oh no…You don't mean…?" Xehanort gulped
"Yes…I do. The Seed of True and Pure Evil… has gestated." Ragyo said in a timid tone
"I see now. So you have been to-" Xehanort asked, only to be cut short of his question
"Yes. That I have. According to the book, we'll only have about… sixteen years until… the skies run red with its own blood. The world of which that will have the unfortunate fate to be dubbed 'Grounds Zero' – still anybody's guess at this rate, but I have high doubts that those pacifists are willing to keep a living… bomb for that long. They'll either kick the thing out or… it'll likely wind up leaving on its own accord. Either way, I have high doubts that anyone… or anything can possibly killed that child now, let alone tame its unfathomable power." Ragyo informed, sounding a little more collected now she has someone to inform about this development.
"From what I recalled, The Terrible One had quite the fan base in the aftermath of the Life Fiber's near extinction. Their descendants, who no doubt inhabit the worlds of today, continuing their unholy traditions, rites, and worships in secrecy from the rest of their homes." Xehanort pitched in
"The way you worded your lecture makes it feel as though they were waiting for a chance like that." Ragyo hypothesized with an index finger across her chin.
"Yes. You are correct. The symbol on the book as well as what you saw on the offspring are his way of announcing his coming as well as a symbol of power. Many of his worshippers all yearn for the branding for the promise of its immense power but very few even lived long enough to tell the tale of its strength. More markings mean more power and more power mean greater risk."
"Then the child who was just born that I saw. What of it?"
"Read the book, my dear. You'll find your answer."
Ragyo did just that and as she skimmed through certain parts of it, she then stumbled upon a section that was related to the topic at hand "I see now. Those born of his seed are innately immune to its aversive effects. Those that were imbedded with the marking are known to show some shock and nausea, but with practice the harshness of these side-effects are reduced to the point of them becoming nil. Those of his seed, these 'Heirs', are able to harness this power without the risk of keeling over. Although thorough training may be required to maximize control over some abilities his mark brings that other mortals would deem unnatural." Ragyo then reached into her pocket and brought out the remains of the Life Fiber dagger. "That would explain how she did this to the weapon I had stashed just in case I had to get rough with any flirts that might happen upon me."
"And to think she only just came out of the womb. What's the mother's name?" Xehanort inquired
"Angela." Ragyo answered
"Last name?"
"The monks never said, but smart money says her first one is soon to be changed, but I'll remember her by Angela alone. Plain and normal sure, but significant enough nonetheless for the face of agony and fear she had while in labor has long since been engraved into my psyche… as well as the monster she gave birth to."
"Damn shame you never got the last name though. If you had, the child would be easier to track down for a later occasion. I'm quite positive that they'll give the child her mother's last name over…that thing that gave her that child in the first place." Xehanort conveyed "Still…You said you memorized the child's appearance, right?"
"Yes. That I did. Typical Caucasian features for an infant, ash colored skin, strands of deep violet hair, and of course…'those'. The rest is up to chance at this point." Ragyo answered, admitting that she at least has some sort of means to track the hell spawn down
"You are basically racing against the clock, you know that?" Xehanort more or less mocked his secret apprentice
"Yes, I'm quite aware of the odds stacked against us… Which is why I'll have 'her' do most of the scouting for us."
"Harime! Of course!" Xehanort shouted a bit as he recalled what his 'secret sauce' resulted in. "She can scout about the worlds just as freely seeing she is combined with the Life Fibers themselves as well as my ability to channel the darkness at will."
"Exactly. We can have her sneak into that world on a regular basis to keep tabs on the Dark Lord's spawn. With that deadly dark musk of hers, I have doubts that Nui would ever lose her trail. Once Nui finds out where the child of evil is being sent to, and believe me they will get rid of her, I will see to her execution myself. In the meantime, I'll see if I can get some leads on my ex-husband on my own." Ragyo stated her plans
"If your story on your encounter with the Heir is true, then it is in Nui's best interest that she remains as far away as possible. If she tries anything, it'll cause an unnecessary panic and, worst case scenario, MY seed…will have gone to waste." Xehanort retorted, adding that Nui must minimized all interactions with that world's inhabitants. Especially the Heir.
"Understood. May Our Hearts…Be Our Guiding Keys." Ragyo finished as they closed off communications for now. She then made her long journey up the stairs again and after a dragged out trip back to the Life Fiber's Chamber and the door was hidden from view once again, she proceeded to stare into the orange that is the Life Fiber, the coloration of each individual thread vaguely reminding her of the markings that littered the baby's flesh.
As she eventually dozes off, she was suddenly caught off guard by a high-pitched yell "Hellooooooooo, Mommyyyyyy!"
Ragyo gasped in response and turned around and there stood Nui Harime who looks the same way she did in the present prior to her losing her left eye to Soichiro Matoi "Nui! Didn't I tell you not to surprise me like that?" Ragyo replied
"Aww… I'm sorry, mommy. You just looked down in the dumps right now and was wondering what was wrong." Nui responded, feeling sad now that Ragyo wasn't doing too well. "Is there something you need done? Something that may need my…special abilities?" She asked her mother
"Hmm…come to mention it, there is something I need help with." Ragyo answered, deciding it's time to break the ice with her. "There's a certain someone that I need to keep tabs on. You are not to attack her or any of the locals there. Just keep an eye on her. Let me know if this person has left that world and inform me of her destination."
"Okay-dokie, Mommy!" Nui saluted her mother as she started to make her way back to the REVOCS production facility, only for her to do an immediate about-face back to Ragyo and asked "Wait! Who was it that I'm supposed to keep watch on and where would I find them?"
"Oh that's right. I never even gave the details." Ragyo shot back, admitting that she completely flaked. She then wrote down the details of the person in questions, details that were an exact match of the infant she had the unfortunate fate of meeting on that world she visited today. "Here you go. This should give you all that you need to know about her as well as dimensional coordinates. Also, I would like it if you kept that updated as time goes by. Physical attributes, fashion senses, general mood towards life in general if we need to get into absolute specifics."
"Thank you, mommy!" Nui smiled as she was given her newest free time task. A task that'll drag on for the next decade or so before moving on to her failed attempt on Master Yen Sid's life.
[12 Years Later]
Another hooded individual was seem skulking around the same world that Ragyo visited years ago. This time the coat was a shade of pink, the figure seem to be significantly smaller than Ragyo in all dimensions, and there was a lot of familiar looking blonde hair protruding from the hood. She was seen sniffing around, seemingly looking for something…or someone. After a while of sniffing around, the figure lifted her hood and underneath revealed to be none other than Nui Harime. She decided to ask some of the locals for leads to the person that she was tasked with keeping tabs on: The Heir. She headed for the place where it all started and looked around for the same person that Ragyo met way back when. Once she saw the elderly woman, Nui ran up to her and asked "I'm a close buddy of Angela's child. Can I play with her right now? I looked all over the place and can't seem to find her."
"Friends with 'her' are you?" The elder asked "Well that is strange. She never took me for the kind to have any friends given what she is, so I find that very hard to believe. Besides, after a freak accident too many, the city voted to have the child ousted from the realm. I did all I could to help her control what she was reluctantly bestowed. The rest now is up to her." She informed
"Any chance you know where she went? I really do miss her." Nui asked with a puppy eye look on her face.
"As I've said, I never seen her with anyone besides me and her mother. I find you story very difficult to believe." The old and wise one answered.
As she did so, Nui's nose was hard at work once again. For some reason, she managed to pick up the scent here of all places. Her attention was then drawn to one of the sections of the living quarters of the temple which began to pick on her curiosity. After a bit of sniffing, Nui returned her attention to the city elder and replied "You're right after all. I might have mistaken my friend for someone else. You don't mind if I have a look around, do you? You know just touring the place."
"Sorry, but something tells me that you overstayed your welcome." The keeper and guardian of this particular speck of existence said, insisting that Nui takes her leave.
In an out of view part of the living quarters, a dark corridor was seen materializing. Nui then looked back up at the elder one last time before saying "I'll be back." The Master Tailor then took her leave, or so the old woman was led to believe. Once Nui was out of the temple, she kept frolicking about the town almost in a random pace and direction until she saw a dark corridor in an alleyway. "There we are. Right where I pictured it would be." She smirked a devious smirk as she walked into the corridor and on the other side, she emerged into the living quarters of the temple of this world, now completely undercover "I'm in." She thought as her nose picked up the other dark being's lingering scent once again. "As I thought: it is way stronger in here than it was downstairs." She then followed the scent to the room that it was coming from. Before she decided to go hardball on the place after being impeded, more so than her normal routine visits of this world went, she opted for a more subtle approach having recalled her orders to NOT cause any chaos in this world – only to observe. She utilized one of her sewing tools to slit her left index finger slightly to expose a Life Fiber to scan and observe the room discreetly – in a similar manner of which Sora did at Yen Sid's Tower. Much to Nui's surprise, no one was there for to greet her; not even to pester. She poked around the room, hoping to find a lead that will take her to her observation target. If this individual has indeed migrated elsewhere, then Nui must do whatever it takes to track her down and report the new location to Ragyo; everything else has been kept up-to-date so far. All she needs to do now is give an update on the location and everything will be ready when Ragyo is prepared to strike. Nui looked all over the room for a hint and just as she was about to give up after about five minutes of frantic fast-paced searching, she stumbles upon a journal; most likely written by the person that Nui's was observing for the past decade or so. Nui opened it and began reading its contents and although it was quite enlightening as well as entertaining for her to read about the sad tales of this particular creature, she also noticed that a lot of the journal pages were crossed out with a black marker, redacting much of the journal in its entirety. "Well nuts! This girl's need for seclusion makes Satsuki look like a social superstar!" The Master Tailor thought to herself. Despite the censorship that was displayed in the journal, whether it was to hide her more embarrassing tales or to keep would-be busybodies out of the loop, Nui didn't lose heart in hoping to find the location of the Heir. Later with will and luck, she managed to find the incantations to a teleportation spell…as well as dimensional coordinates; the latter of which was all she needed given her ability to simply open up dark corridors at will. "JACKPOT!" Nui shouted aloud, only for her to remember that she was supposed to be incognito. "Crap…"
"Hey! That little blonde never left the town nor temple, did she!?" The elder shouted, realizing that she has been had for the last time by Nui Harime
"Well, got all I need to know at least…but it never it hurts to be safe." Nui thought to herself as she materialized another dark corridor. "Better check out the coordinates written here to make sure they're legit." She step into the gate and it managed to vanish just in the nick of time before the doors came swinging open.
From behind the door came the city elder and a posse of bodyguards for safe measure. They all looked around for the intruder that is Nui Harime, but have been unable to find any traces of her presence in the room. "We can't seem to sense her anymore." One of the guards said
"I'm sure there are still traces of her being here!" The elder said, confident that Nui was here as they started to double their search, looking for anything out of the ordinary. "I never would have predicted that something like this would happen. If I had known it would be the case, I should have had her room cleaned out sooner." She thought to herself as she was skimming across the dresser and as she did so, she noticed that there was a rectangular shape clean spot amidst the dust that had accumulated over the course of a few days. The elder knows the shape all too well. "Oh no…my predecessors preserve us… She took my student's diary."
[On the other side of the Dark Corridor]
Nui was in a city of a thrilling appearance during night time as she was searching around for the person she was ordered to observe for so long. As she was searching around downtown, she was getting bumped and pushed around quite a bit. Part of her wanted to let loose just for the hell of it, but she also wants to make her mommy Ragyo as happy as can be so instead of making a ruckus she decided to steel herself and endured the annoyance of the crowd pushing her around. "Focus, Nui…Focus! Don't break now!" She commanded herself while looking around and she was doing so, she spotted a figure in deep blue cloak. Nui's eyes widened as she remembered the exact design of said cloak like the back of her hand, but as she recalled she must get a clear look of the person underneath just to be safe so she proceeded to follow the individual throughout the city. "Nowhere left to turn." Nui continued to stalk the person in the deep blue cloak at a careful pace and distance as to not give herself away so easily, but with every turn Nui makes to keep her target in view said person keeps taking more scenic routes as though this person knows that they're being followed. Before long Nui tracked her target to an alleyway; an excellent place for her to unravel the cloak without causing chaos or whatnot "I have you now. This game of Hide and Seek is over." Nui then entered the alleyway herself. As she got about halfway into the alley, she just realized that something was indeed terribly wrong with this final stretch of her mission – she can't move her feet and all of a sudden, her entirely body was lifted from the ground! "Oh no…"
"What were those called again…? Ah right. Life Fibers. I know the disgusting scent of those things a lightyear away. Did you really think I wasn't aware of someone like you tracking me throughout the city?" Called out a girl's voice. It was cold yet quiet – the kind that would likely send chills down the spine of even Satsuki Kiryuin herself. The source of the voice step forward to reveal hints of the cloak that Nui was tracking earlier, confirming her suspicions after all. Although her cloak no longer shrouds her figure, the rest of her is currently obstructed due to the dense shadows of the alley alone. The only things that can be made out is a bright white glow in her hooded eyes and deep black glow around her left hand.
"Wait! Y-You know about even those!?" Nui said in horror as she realized that there a slight possibility that she was played from the start.
"Spending time in the archives really does a brain a lot of good. Keeps you well-learned, gets your mind of pointless stress, and can even set one's emotions at ease. Oh, and just so you know, I've been on to that stalking habit of yours since I was seven. It's strange though. You've been lurking in the shadows for so long…and yet you haven't age an hour. My best guess is that you were born with those Fibers in your being; most likely artificially." The girl replied, confirming that she knew about Nui's presence near her for a long time. This only causes Nui's eyes to widen even more.
"Dear mother of Xehanort…" Nui thought to herself as she now learned that she and Ragyo…might have been a little way in over their heads.
"I really don't give one half damn of who sent you. But as someone who knows too much about me, you're a bearer of hazardous knowledge. For all I care, 'He' might have been the one that sent you here to keep tabs on me." The girl coldly continued
"But I was sent here by mommy Ragyo…" Nui said aloud, completely puzzled by what she was being spoon-fed right this instant. She thought to herself "Wait! If by 'him'…does she mean…?"
"'Mommy Ragyo?' It matters little. You've absorbed too much about me for too long." She then clenched her left hand slightly. This caused Nui to start getting blue in the head as she was now struggling to breathe.
"Is it too late to say that this might be a misunderstanding…?" Nui's thought process continued
"You know too much about me and maybe even my dark powers; I can't let you live…" She clenched her left hand even more to the point where Nui has went from blue to eggplant purple
"Yeah, it too late!" Nui mentally screamed in agony as she was having her artificial life crushed out of her.
"I'm very sorry to do this, but you must die…" Her left hand closed in its entirety and as a result, a fierce cracking sound can be heard from Nui's neck. The mystery girl had snapped Nui's spinal column in two. She then reopened her left and had her palm pointing upward. At that motion, a unique variation of a dark corridor was opened right beneath where Nui was once levitated against her will and now was dropped straight into it, being warped to Ancient Masters know where. "Wow. That was pretty cold, even for me. This crap right here was the exact reason why I was exiled in the first place. Well then again, I would have wound up leaving on my own will regardless hoping that it will spare the place that I once called home, even if they don't appreciate the sacrifice." She thought as she was now alone once again, this time for sure. As she was walking down the alley, the girl then thought to herself "Wait a minute! If she really couldn't die from that, then does that mean that she's…!? No… If she was, she would have been far more persistent. Besides, Life Fibers are the very bane of 'his' existence. Not to mention, I still have three more years left. It's slated to happen when I turn sixteen. …" She then wrapped herself in her cloak again, found a spacious spot in the alleyway, sat down at said spot, and proceeded to try and get some sleep.
[Back at Honno-ji during night time]
A dark corridor was seen materializing just outside of Kiryuin Manor. And out of it came an unconscious Nui Harime tumbling all over the place. She sat there near the main entrance for a good ten minutes before she finally pieced her vertebrate back together; she shook her head after she fully came to. Never has she been so humiliated in her life, but she feels as though it was worth it now that she knows the location of the child from way back when. And now that she know the location's name in mind, her years of observation has at long last been complete. And even better for her, once she got her bearings back in place she immediately recognized where she was at now: she was home right away. She scrambled for the front door and once she opened it emerged Satsuki Kiryuin in her middle school years "Ah! Big Sis Satsuki! What a relief it is to see you! Have you got business to attend with mommy too?" Nui yelled in joy of the sight of her 'sister'.
Satsuki on the other hand, was not as joyous and was looking borderline exhausted to be exact. She then decided to take the time to answer Nui's question and replied "Actually, my business with her as well as this place has already concluded for the month. If it's urgent for you to see her, I think you might find her in her quarters if not in her 'special place'."
"Thank you, Satsuki! You take care of yourself, you hear!? Don't want mommy to see you all TOO banged up out there now do we?" Nui thanked Satsuki
"Heh…You're a fine one to talk. I actually heard something, or perhaps someone, hit the streets in front of the mansion just as I was preparing to take my leave. And the prints on the street look awfully human shaped if you ask me." Satsuki retorted with a pinch of humor in her voice which got Nui to blow raspberries in Satsuki's direction. Instead of perpetuating things with Nui any further, Satsuki decided to conclude her visit in earnest and said "See you again in four weeks."
"Spoil Sport Satsuki. The only time she's laughs is at someone else's expense, usually either mine or mommy…" Nui muttered, then suddenly "OH WAIT! That's right! I got to report my findings to Momma!" She shrieked as loud as she could as she suddenly remembered the very reason she was outside of Honno-ji to start with as she scrambled into the mansion in search of her 'mother'. She started off with first place that she could possibly be at: The Life Fiber's Chambers which to Nui's joy she was right there in front of the Original Life Fiber. "Guess who just got baa-ack!?"
"Nui! Great to see you again." Ragyo said as she hugged her 'perfect' daughter as she finally returned "I take it you ran into Satsuki on your way here."
"Yeah. She always looking for some reason to poke fun at me."
"Hey. Don't let it bother you, alright? It's not like she'll be long for this world anyway. So did you get any updates for me?" Ragyo asked, eager to hear the latest from 'that' child
"Do I ever!?" Nui answered as she pulled out the diary of the girl that they have been observing for years "This was in her old room in 'that' world, meaning that she vacated; for these dimensional coordinates to be exact."
"Then they actually done exactly what I thought they would do with her: throw her to the wolves and left to rot away by herself." Ragyo said with a fiendish smile about her, like she knew they would turn to this method.
"This little booklet was the jackpot the whole time, but it wasn't like I could've waltzed into her quarters without stirring up a scene seeing as she was on to my presence for a while now. Besides, most of the diary is censored anyway. It's like she knew I would make a move on it." Nui pointed out as she mentioned that she wasn't as stealthy as she was known to be. Nui then decided to take this time to observe the diary more closely to find out the girl's name. Tried as she might to get a clue as to the identity of the owner of the diary from observing it and trying to bring the pages up to some light to see through the blackout marker, almost every passage in it was borderline pointless venting. The only thing that made this booklet stand out in any way…was that embedded onto the front cover of the diary….was a black bird – a raven to be exact. Ultimately however, Nui determined that it was nothing but a case of personal taste in the end.
"Guess she was always wanting to be a loner her entire life – even if said life is slated to be a short one. Fingers crossed she'll remain that way for just long enough for me to make my move." Ragyo sighed, making her way to the exit for the Life Fiber's Chamber as her cellphone pinged which prompted her to pull it out and see that she has another meeting coming up soon.
"But mommy. You said this person is dangerous and after feeling her snap my neck with merely a thought, I'm actually starting to believe that." Nui said, remembering her encounter with this individual. This statement, the topic of which Ragyo was still very sensitive to even to this day, got her to slow to a crawl.
Ragyo turned around and walked back to Nui with a surprisingly stern look in her face "I was nowhere near well-armed for such a being. All I had were mere daggers to fend of pervs and flirts. By the time I strike, I will have a weapon more proper for the job – however I acquire it." And little would she know that she would inherit a weapon for the job rather than forge it; in the form of the Gazing Eye, courtesy of the soon-to-be late Master Xehanort…