Dark Road comes out tomorrow!

And yes, this chapter came out quickly. I want to finish this fic BEFORE Memory of Melody comes out. So, don't be surprised if I start pushing chapters out quicker than before.

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

My OCs © to me!

Other OCs © to their respective owners.

Chapter 16: Just a Milk Run

Roxas threw down his backpack. "Can't we just skip school while everyone is here?"

"Not on my watch."

"Isa, you're no fun!"

"No, I'm the only mature adult that lives in this house."

"Hey!" Lea glared. "I resemble that remark."

"I know." Isa sat in his chair, one hand holding a book, the other scratching Kosho behind the ears. "But you kids still have school. And there's not much point in you staying here all day. The computer is processing all day. Right now, it's updating information we've gathered."

Ven lay on the couch, quietly napping until Hayner dropped his backpack onto the boy's stomach. "We just feel useless, Isa!"

"We all do." Riku sighed. "Right now, we just have to figure out how to make the return gate for Sora and Kairi, but other than that, we can't do anything."

Ven shoved the backpack onto the floor. "What was that about, Hayner!?"

"Sorry, didn't see you there."

Mickey chuckled as the sleepy boy yawned. "You've been napping all day."

"I'm tired. I haven't been sleeping well since Chirithy left. Nightmares…"

"Oh…"

"Hey guys," Terra game jogging in from the library, "the computer is doing something."

"Something?"

The young man huffed. "I don't know computers! I don't know what it's doing."

Isa closed his book and stood up. "Weren't you Ansem's apprentice, or kind of his apprentice?"

"I don't remember those days. That was Xehanort in control."

Everyone walked down to the computer. Aqua held her gummi phone in her hand, looking at the computer screen. "Do you think this will work?"

"It's our best bet to get them home safely."

"What's going on?"

Ienzo's voice piped up from the phone. "Well, using the data we gathered from Kairi's heart, we believe we can triangulate her position in that other worldline. This way, when we figure out how to open a gateway back to our own worldline, we will know where she is."

Hayner crossed his arms. "Ok, but how will we know when they're ready to come home?"

"That," Even said, "is where things get a little… well."

"Using this system," Ansem the Wise explained, "we think we can also connect to her heart, and actually see things that her heart sees. Basically, we can see exactly what she sees, where she is, and what is happening. If it works."

Goofy scratched his head. "Um, but wouldn't that be spying? We could accidently see things that Kairi wouldn't want us to. And she didn't give us permission."

"And that is where our issue lies. Unless we can get her permission, we would be prying into her heart and situations. Now, it might not even work, but we have to test it first, but again, that does bring up the privacy issue."

Naminé shook her head. "I don't like it. I can see into people's hearts and memories and it's an intrusion of privacy. I don't think we should test it."

"But it could be their only way back…"

"I say we put it to a vote." Isa suggested. "If it works, we can then figure out how to contact Kairi and get full permission. So, all those for testing it, raise your hands…"

Kairi sneezed.

"Wonder if someone's talking about you?" Lucky laughed.

"Huh?"

"When you sneeze, that means someone is talking about you somewhere."

"Well, I hope they're saying nice things." Kairi stopped by the medical center doors. "Thanks again for letting me join you guys last minute last night."

Lucky waved a hand. "Don't mention it, girlie! We were happy to have you."

Kairi smiled and walked into the medical center, only to nearly run into Cat. "Oh, Cat, I was just coming to see you."

"Oh yeah," the nurse shook her head, "I knew I was forgetting something. Look, I'm sorry, but we'll have to cancel this week. Something's come up." She pushed past the girl and out the door.

"Catalina!" Atlas came jogging out just as his wife left. "Of course… oh, Kairi. Kairi! Can you do me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"Can you go with Cat? She just kinda ran out, and I have a surgery in fifteen minutes I have to get to. I don't want her going out alone."

Kairi cocked her head to the side. "Uh, sure. Where is she going?"

"She'll have to explain on the way, just catch up before she leaves." He turned around and went back into the back.

Strange.

What was Cat doing?

Kairi hurried downstairs, spotting Cat just as she hailed a cab. "Cat!" The nurse stopped as the girl ran over. "Wait. I'm coming too."

"Did my husband put you up to this? Seriously, it's practically a milk run. Nothing dangerous."

"Well, he asked me to come, so I'm coming."

The nurse laughed. "Fine."

The two got into a cab and rode off. "Where are we going anyway?"

"You came after me and have no idea where I'm going? Wow." Cat chuckled dryly. "We ran out of a vaccine we need. Or, we will run out soon. There's a place in San'ya(1) where I can get some."

Kairi blinked. "Why can't you just order some normally?"

"Because this vaccine is legally owned and produced by the District of Colombia, and since they're in a war and a hostile takeover is probably happening soon, they aren't shipping any. We need this. When the seasons change, a virus tends to pop up; this virus caused a world-wide pandemic years ago(2). We usually send in a massive order about this time, but since we can't get any…"

"Oh…"

Kairi bit her lip. This was serious. "So, where are we going to get some."

"I have… a friend that can get some for us."

A friend?

Cat didn't speak the rest of the drive. Soon, they reached an area full of more simple houses, covered in signs that advertised "free-wifi", "color-tv", "magical being allowed". It looked like a bunch of cheap hotels aimed at people who just wanted somewhere inexpensive to stay.

The two got out of the cab near a set of stores. "Kairi, do you know what the Yakuza is?"

"Yakuza?"

"Crime syndicates here in Japan. They're semi-legal organizations, and they are more than just street thugs; they have large companies sometimes and do help with humanitarian efforts."

Kairi glanced around at all the people. "Crime syndicates? Will they attack us?"

"No, they know me around here, so they won't mess with us."

"Is your 'friend' part of the Yakuza?"

"Yes." Cat walked up to a drugstore. She pointed to a symbol displayed on the outside; a circle with wheat in it, and a symbol Kairi didn't recognize. "This is the symbol of the Inagawa-kai(3) family. This means the business is run and operated by one of theirs." Instead of moving on, Cat pushed the door open and went inside.

A young woman in a black Lolita dress with messy blonde hair sporting black feathers, looked up. "Catty. Been a while."

"Hey Fleurette(4)."

Kairi looked around the store. Shelves lined with medicines, herbs, and various medical supplies lined the walls, but behind the counter, she could see what appeared to be a shake machine, and part of the counter displayed various ice cream flavors. This reminded her of the drugstores back on the islands.

"Who's red?

"This is Kairi." Cat pulled the girl over. "She's a college of mine."

"Ah, military." Fleurette leaned over, checking out the patch on Kairi's uniform. "Oh, on the prince's squad too. Nice." She hopped over the counter. "Name's Fleurette. Nice to meet you." She shook Kairi's hand before turning to the nurse. "So, what do you need?"

Cat handed her a piece of paper. "Four full cases."

"Um," the other woman read the paper, "you do realize this is super hard to get right now?" Cat nodded. "And it will cost you extra?" Another nod. "Alright. I'll take the 500 gil deposit now and get the order in. It should be here in, hopefully about a week."

Cat handed her a bag of money. "Let me know when it gets here."

"Sure." Walking behind the counter, Fleurette dropped the money into a safe with the note. "So, you two want a float or shake before you leave or nah?"

"It's against regulations to have sweets for military members, you know."

"So? Not like I'm gonna tell."

Kairi put up her hand. "I'd like a shake." She walked over, looking down at the flavors. "A coconut one please."

"Gimme a sec."

Kairi wondered why Atlas was so against Cat coming here alone. She seemed fine. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

"Here." Fleurette handed her the shake. "Twenty gil please!" Kairi gave her the money and the two military members headed for the door. "Come back soon!"

The two headed back down the street. "Two questions. One… did we just buy illegally smuggled medicine?"

"Technically no." Cat laughed. "The Yakuza she works for will order it legally, ship it in legally, and then distribute it. Technically, she's liscenced to sell medicine… not official vaccines, but it is medicine. So, loophole."

Kairi took a sip of her coconut shake, trying not to laugh. "Ok then. Question two… Why was Atlas so nervous about you coming here alone?"

"Another Yakuza family has been coming into Tokyo, the Yamajuchi-gumi(5), so there have been some fights between the two in this area. It's away from prying eyes, so it's a good place to fight. My husband worries. I can handle myself; I grew up here." She paused. "Actually, Atlas and I lived just up the street from here when we first married."

"You lived here?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. My family owned a laundromat two blocks from here; my brother actually still owns it." She waved at an old woman who sat on a porch. "Atlas and his girlfriend at the time decided to open a small clinic down here for people who couldn't afford to visit hospitals. He decided to hire locals with some first aid experience to train as nurses."

"Is that how you met?"

Cat nodded again. "I'd patched up a few people in my day. Knife wounds. Bullet holes. So, I took the job. After Atlas and his girlfriend broke up, he and I got to know one another. We dated for a while, then got married. Not long after that we quit the clinic and went to the military."

"Why did you quit?"

"They had no choice." The two turned to see a woman with voluptuous blonde hair wearing a short white dress and tall red boots strut toward them. "Not after what Atlas did."

Cat grit her teeth. "He did what he had to, Holly(6)."

"And killed a child in the process."

What!?

Holly strode up to the nurse, pursing her bright red lips. "If he'd only listened to me, it wouldn't have happened."

"You wanted to turn the child and his mother away!"

"They had no money."

"So what!?"

"They were broke, and the kid got hurt trying to steal something. Just like everyone around here… crooks and thieves."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Some people can pay." Holly pushed a plump lock of hair off her shoulder. "And anyways, humanitarian efforts look good in the newspaper." Her brown eyes turned to Kairi. "I hope you don't get hurt in the army. Or else old butter-knife will accidently kill you operating."

She strode past them, red heels clicking against the concrete.

"Was that…"

"My husband's ex, and the woman still running the clinic? Yes. She got us run out of the area. People still like me, but Atlas can't really show his face around here." Cat leaned against a wall. "That's the real reason he doesn't like me coming here alone; he's afraid someone will take out their anger at him on me. But this is my neighborhood. I grew up here. I know every part of it, from the back alleys to the underground black market."

The way Cat talked about this neighborhood made Kairi think of the islands. How she, Sora, and Riku knew the twists and turns better than anyone. A spark of homesickness pierced her heart.

The coconut milkshake in her hands didn't help.

"Kairi?" Cat stopped in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that, I'm doing counseling with you each week. Something is up."

Dang it…

"The way you were talking just made me miss home."

Cat smiled warmly. "Oh, sorry about that."

"It's fine."

The nurse opened her mouth, about to say something; probably something deep and inspiring. But-

Two hands grabbed their arms, dragging them into an alley. "Get down!"

Gunfire began to ring out down the street.

Kairi looked up at the person who grabbed them. "Lucky!?"

"Hey guys, didn't think I'd see you here."

"What are you doing here!?"

"Black market. Duh. I needed some stuff."

Cat sat up, crawling toward the street, but stopping just before her head poked out. "What's going on?"

"Yakuza. Yamajuchi-gumi guys came in to break up some Inagawa-kai business. Looks like both sides came ready to fight."

Kairi got to her knees. "What do we do?"

"Break it up." Cat reached for her belt, pulling out a metal rod from beneath her coat; it extended to a long pole with thin axe heads on each end. "Try and separate them. Kairi, you have magic, so if you can use it to push them apart, Lucky and I can cover you."

"Yeah!" Kairi gasped as Lucky jumped up, pulling something from inside her jacke- was that a sawed-off-shotgun!? "I haven't seen action in months."

Kairi stood up, summoning her Keyblade. "If you say so. Stay behind me, and I'll do what I can."

BOOM! Explosions and screaming joined the gunfire.

The three ran out onto the streets. Kairi could see the two groups further down the street. But one seemed on the run.

A column of flame pursued them as a figure in a black hoodie, sporting a dragon on the back, held out what looked like a cane. Ice spiraled into existence, scaring off the other group.

"Magic!"

"That's not good."

"What?"

"Kairi, people around here don't know magic, especially that powerful! He might kill someone!" Cat took off down the street. "We need to detain him! Now!" Kairi and Lucky followed her, running at top speed.

The Yakuza saw them coming and began to scatter. The figure, a man by the looks of it, in the hoodie spotted them and took off. He cast an Aero spell, launching himself onto a roof.

"Two can play at that!" Kairi cast the same spell, following him across the rooftops. The figure's long legs and head start kept him ahead of her, but she refused to give up. She cast spells, but he used his own magic to counter hers.

Kairi kept going.

The gap between them closed. Closer and closer.

Suddenly, he stopped, stepping to the side before Kairi could react. His hand grabbed Kairi by the back of her collar, knocking the wind out of her throat as he slammed her to the ground.

"Sleep."

His voice. Just above a whisper.

Kairi's eyes shut, even as she fought to keep them awake. She tried to look, to see his face. But all she saw was his chin and mouth before her eyes defeated her willpower, closing completely.

"Kairi!"

Even in the darkness of sleep, Kairi could hear the voice of Lucky.

The spell faded away as Cat sat the princess up. "Kairi, what did he do?"

"H-he cast Sleep. I'm alright." She stared across the rooftops. No sign of him. "Who was that?"

Cat looked across the roofs. "I don't know. But, he… or she is probably a problem. Remember, our country does not rely on magic, and most people don't use it at all. So, whoever that person is, he or she is probably a mercenary. Or, someone who trained professionally in another country. We need to report this… Did you see their weapon, or something to help us determine their identity?"

"No. Sorry."

Lucky groaned. "Last thing we need is something to escalate this mess with the Yakuza."

"How long has this been going on?"

"A while." Lucky helped Kairi stand. "I was down here for recon. I'm not just a supply manager. I do other jobs, and hey, I get to make some cash in the black market too." She ran a hand through her blue hair. "Let's jut get back and make the stupid report."

"Yeah…"

"You're back!" Atlas coughed, "I mean… I'm glad you're back."

Cat laughed, kissing her husband's cheek. "Don't worry, darling. I was in good hands. I'll head back home. I need a nap."

"Alright." The doctor waited until his wife left before smiling. "Kairi, thank you for taking care of my Catalina. Here." He handed Kairi a pin. "This was something I got in medical school as a surgeon. Consider it a thank you."

Kairi looked at the pin, a small scalpel. "Thanks, and you're welcome. Cat's been a big help to me, so it was nothing."

The doctor waved his hand and stepped away.

Kairi clutched the pin in her hand. Maybe… maybe this could be a keychain for a new Keyblade.

"Hey Kai!" Stella skipped into the exercise area of the residential building. "Whatcha got there?"

Kairi held up the pin which now dangled from a white cord. "I'm about to try something." She unclipped the current Keychain on her Keyblade and put the pin on.

Her blade flashed white. She and Stella gasped as the Keyblade changed.

The silver pole that made up the shaft of weapon shimmered in the light, reflecting the angel wing that made up the blade and the left side of the guard. Around the shaft wound a golden snake, and a second golden snake made up the right side of the guard. A red cloth wrapped around the handle making for a better grip.

"WHOA!" Stella bounced from foot to foot. "Keyblades do that!"

"Yeah, if I get something of value from another person, I can make it into a Keychain. At least that's what Chirithy said. Atlas gave me this pin…" She closed her eyes. "This Keyblade is named… Hippocratic Oath(7)."

"That is so cool!"

Kairi stood up, swinging the blade. "I wonder if this one can change like the last one." She charged at a training dummy, hacking at it. The Keyblade felt light, but her attacks felt… weaker.

Eventually, she felt the magic building up. "You thought that was cool, Stella. Watch this."

Her Keyblade swirled in a silver light before coming together again.

"EEEEEEE!" Stella squealed. "This is amazing!"

Kairi looked down at the shield in her hands. A large silver shield ringed in golden snakes bore a red cross under a pair of wings.

"Maybe… this Keyblade isn't meant for attacking. When I was attacking, it wasn't doing much damage."

Stella picked up a training sword. "Well a shield means defense, so let's see how it does." She attacked, smacking at the shield. Kairi blocked and then smacked Stella back with the shield.

Again, she felt the magic building up again. "Stand back, Stella!"

The shield deconstructed. Soon, Kairi held a long silver staff, topped with white wings, with golden snakes wrapped around it.

"This is freakin' AWESOME! You're like a healer now!" She gasped. "OOOOOH! Vallis said something like this happened! And you used the stealth dressphere with it. What if we made you a dressphere for each Keyblade!?" She tapped her comlink. "Lucky! Get a blank dressphere and meet me in my office now!" Grabbing Kairi's hand, Stella dragged her off.

"Try it, girlie!" Lucky laughed, still filling out the report from the day as Stella programmed the dressphere.

Kairi looked down at the white orb in her hands. Milky clouds laced with red swirled inside the orb.

Squeezing it, she felt the object activate.

"Now you match your Keyblade! A healer and protector through-and-through!"

Nearly every part of Kairi's outfit: boots, leggings, coat, shirt, and hat were now white. Red lined her boots, coat, and hat. Her gauntlets were red with white on the bottom with a black band around her wrists(8).

"Well, it works."

"It lets people know you're here to help medically."

Kairi turned her clothes back to normal. "Thanks you two. Kinda reminds me of Sora… his clothes would change when his Keyblade did."

"Huh," Lucky chewed on the end of her pen, "maybe we can ask Zoraida about that."

"Maybe."

Kairi looked down at the orb. Just like Sora…

Was she trying too hard to be like him? Was it even possible to be anything like him?

Maybe it was just a fruitless dream…

Or

Maybe she was trying too hard to be like someone else, and not trying to be herself…

Footnotes:

(1) San'ya is a former neighborhood in Tokyo know for lower class workers, poverty, and violence. It has recently been split into several neighborhoods and is no longer called San'ya.

(2) Yes, this is based on Covid.

(3) The Inagawa-kai are the third largest Yakuza family in Japan and are based in the Tokyo-Yokohama area.

(4) Fleurette is a character in Dragon Quest IX.

(5) The Yamaguchi-gumi is the largest Yakuza family in Japan. It is based in Kobe.

(6) This is Holly Whyte from Bravely Default.

(7) The Hippocratic Oath is an oath stating the obligations and proper conduct of doctors.

(8) Basically, this is a white mage outfit for Kairi, based on the ones from the Final Fantasy series.

VAs:

Fleurette- Elizabeth Maxwell (Sae Nijima, Albedo, Midnight, Caulifla, Jenny Realight)

Holly Whyte- Rachel Robinson (Holly Whyte, Judith, Goetia, Oerba Yun Fang, Miwa)