If Our Hearts Unite
Chapter 20: City Life
Axel watched the sunset with a sort of awed expression. His and Kairi's training was almost complete, and they would soon join the team to help find the missing keyblade wielders, and take on the big evil. Nerves ran high, but his mind was focused on what his priorities were.
Learn to wield a keyblade- Check
Find Roxas… working on it.
Figure out what he was forgetting.
That last one was more of a personal problem than a priority. He just couldn't seem to figure out what he was forgetting. There were emotions building up in him whenever he was around Kairi… emotions he'd felt before… but had forgotten.
"Why is it always the girls that make me feel weird?" He muttered a bit and rubbed his chest.
"Hey Axel." Kairi's voice brought him out of his daze and he glanced over at her.
"Hey, liking the look. You cut your hair too." Axel commented nodding his head in approval.
"Thanks." Kairi flicked her hair around playfully. "I was inspired by Sora's new look. Though I don't think I can pull off a cut that short."
"Hey, you never know until you try, but this look suits you well." Axel complimented.
"Thanks… aren't you going to try yours on?" She motioned to the case behind him. They'd both received new vestments for the battle, but Axel's face looked a little strained at the thought.
"I dunno, maybe later."
"...but you always wear the same thing." Kairi pouted.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." He patted the jacket. "This is how you pick me out of a crowd. I make myself easy to remember."
Roxas… Kairi deduced with a small smile. He was making sure Roxas could pick him out of a crowd.
"How thoughtful."
"Nah, not really." Axel blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. Kairi sat on the rock beside him closing her eyes to enjoy the gentle breeze and the warm sun.
"Our training is almost finished." She spoke and placed a hand over her heart. "Somewhere inside me is Namine. If we can save Roxas, then we can save her too."
"Huh?" Axel looked at her a bit bemused. They'd never talked about Namine until now. "I guess so."
"Namine was made when Sora freed me from her heart." She continued to explain, her eyes closing as if searching for Namine inside herself. "When she became a part of me again, I thought all was right." Slowly she opened her eyes and admired the beautiful scenery. "...but she can't look at this forest, feel the wind on her face, none of it. Even if she did, it would be different for her."
Axel watched Kairi's expressions, saw the guilt hiding in those eyes, and folded his hands in his lap. Kairi had been thinking a lot about this. She'd always seemed so cheerful that he hadn't noticed the sorts of problems and worries she'd have on her heart.
"Her time was short," Kairi continued, "but she lived it and that makes it hers. What right did I have for taking those feelings and experiences away from her? They don't belong to me. Nothing's as it should be. Not for her, or Roxas."
"I know…" touched by Kairi's thoughtfulness, he smiled at her. Since they were sharing, he decided it was his turn. He'd been holding this particular secret to himself for awhile, and it was about time he shared it with someone. "Way back when I was a kid, I met this girl and somehow we became fast friends."
Kairi's interest piqued and she shifted her attention fully to him.
"I never saw her again… nearly forgot about her too… but then I met Roxas. I couldn't believe it, the two were identical." Axel let out a little laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't tell Roxas, I didn't want her going and vanishing on me too."
Axel brought the girl to mind, the white garb, the wooden keyblade, and the sassy persona. It made him smile.
"Her name was Venus. She's one of the three keyblade wielders we're looking for." He lounged back looking at the sky. "I wonder if she's still got me memorized."
"Oh yeah," Kairi giggled and tapped her temple. "Very memorized."
"Heh, I've been holding that story in for awhile. Didn't think anyone would believe me." He sits up straight sighing. "Now that we're going back… I'm worried about everything."
"Well," Kairi lay her hand over his, eyes full of affection and warmth. "You don't have to worry alone anymore, Axel."
"Hmmm…" Axel smiled and turned his hand over to squeeze. "Thanks, Kairi. You're a good friend."
"Don't mention it." Kairi pulled her hand away and folded it in her lap.
A good friend, Kairi sighed to herself but smiled nonetheless. I guess that's fair. I already know where your heart lies, Axel.
~San Fransokyo~
"Wow! Cool!" Sora's eyes were big and shiny as diamonds. The city ahead of them was something she'd never really gotten a chance to witness first hand. She'd heard stories and seen pictures of places like this but had never seen one up close before.
She ran from one side of the bridge to the next, dodging the cars that were stalled and empty in the middle of the road. She didn't question it though, too buzzed and excited at what was ahead of them.
"Come on, let's go!" Donald ushered Sora along.
"Hold on! I wanna look at the big city." Sora leaned over the edge of the railing, bouncing on her toes before leaping over a car and joining them again.
"Yeah, It does seem pretty exciting." Goofy had to agree.
"Right?" Sora did a circle. "I feel so metropolitan… uh cosmopolitan?" She tried to think of the proper phrasing.
"Not-a-politan!" Donald shouted, annoyed with her spacey attitude. Goofy chuckled at the banter.
"Oooh, I know!" Sora pulled out her phone and started pushing buttons. "I gotta tell Riku what a blast this place is."
"...but Sora, we haven't done anything yet."
"Blast? I'll show you a blast- WHACK!" Donald squawked and was echoed by Sora's gasps and Goofy's yelp.
"The heartless!" Goofy pointed to the gaggle of heartless drones hovering in the distance.
"Let's go!" Sora pocketed her phone and phased in her keyblade. She rushed forward and gasped as a figure was thrown overhead and crash landed into a nearby car. "Whoa! What the-"
"Gogo! You okay?" two more figures flew overhead, Sora watching with astonishment as the big red man soared and landed smoothly in front of the girl who had been tossed. A young boy, around Sora's age, jumped off the back of the red man and crouched down to check on his companion. "Gogo? Baymax!"
The tall red man, who was actually a robotic healthcare companion, turned his gaze to Gogo and did a scan.
"Go-go's bodysuit has shielded her from any serious injuries, but the blow to her head has caused a mild concussion. We should take caution and not move her until we can fully stabilize her." Baymax explained in his clam and robotic voice.
"Whew, okay, got it." The teenager smiled with relief.
"Oooh cool! That's a robot!" Sora jogged over, admiring Baymax up close.
"Hello," Baymax waved to Sora. "I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."
"Oh wow…" Sora held her cheeks, positively fangirling. "Sooo cool!"
"Uh, Sora, don't you remember our other problem?" Goofy tried to get her attention.
"The heartless." Donald scolded, hands on his hips and his foot tapping impatiently.
"Whoops! I almost forgot!" Sora shook herself out of fangirl mode and turned back to the real problem.
"Whoa, hey wait!" The boy, Hiro, held out his hand to stop them. "Who are you guys?"
"Oh!" Sora turned her head over her shoulder and smiled cheerfully. "I'm Sora!"
"Donald."
"Goofy." The other two followed her example giving tge traditional introduction. The image the three created instantly resonated with Hiro and had him jogging up to meet them.
"My name's Hiro, would you mind helping us stop these guys? Our team is called Big Hero 6."
"Sure," Sora flashed a smile and turned towards the heartless. "We'll fight them off together!"
Sora ran right into battle, using the discarded vehicles and debris to take cover from attacks before launching ones of her own. As they fought, Sora couldn't help but notice the others that were fighting as well. Big Hero 6 seemed to be a group of young and inventive people looking to fight off bad guys and protect their city.
"I guess, for once, it won't take much for us to blend right in." Sora smiled at her group and twirled her keyblade around and sliced it right through another enemy. What Sora didn't know, that as they were fighting, she was being analyzed by Hiro and the other members of his team.
"Hey Hiro!" Wasabi called out from behind some wreckage he was taking cover behind. "Who are these guys?"
"We'll do introductions later. Right now they're our best chance at fighting these guys off. So just concentrate on that, alright?"
"Yeah sure, easy for you to say. You don't have to get up close and personal with those things." Wasabi looked at his blades, fear of the monsters swelling inside him. He let out a little scream of terror as the car was heaved up by a large monstrous heartless. "Oh no! No, no, no!" He scrambled back, holding his blades up in a last ditch effort to defend himself.
As the large heartless rose his weapon to take out his target, Sora leapt from the top of another car, her skirt billowing back like a superhero's cape. Her keyblade cut through the wind and implanted down in the back of its neck, The big heartless went up in smoke, and Sora landed just a few feet in front of Wasabi.
"You alright?" She held out her hand with a smile.
"Whoa…Yeah." He gave her a shaky smile in return and accepted the hand up. The team gathered around. Gogo was back on her feet, rubbing her sore neck and shoulders.
"Did we get 'em all?" She asked with a groan.
"Roasted, and toasted!" Fred laughed from behind his mask.
"I wouldn't get too comfortable." Sora explained. "That was only a handful. I can guarantee you there'll be more."
"We should go back to the garage and recuperate." Honey-lemon suggested. "They hit us hard. If there's gonna be more of them, then we need to prepare."
"Good idea," Hiro nodded and smiled at Sora. "You coming?"
"Absolutely." Sora thumped a fist on her chest. "Count us in."
~Several Hours Later~
Baymax made the rounds of all his teammates to ensure any injuries were tended to. Hiro immediately went to his computer, going over the news articles on the monster attack. What he saw didn't sit well with him or his team.
Crisis struck San Fransokyo when a horde of unidentified monsters attacked the populace. Local hero team Big Hero 6 was nearly deep-sixed when they came to the rescue, which pegs the question if they're truly up to the task of protecting the city.
"Ugh, not cool." Gogo sneered at the article.
"People like spectacle, not truth." Honey-lemon agreed.
"Yeah, who needs quality reporting, when you can just make stuff up?" Wasabi threw his hands up in the air and started pacing the garage irritably.
"I don't get it, didn't they see how awesome we were?" Fred asked with a grunt of frustration. "Sure those things landed a couple of good hits, but we had chem-balls, laser hands, and fire breathing!"
"Well it really didn't matter, they beat us." Honey Lemon pointed out sighing.
"Yeah, where'd they come from?" Gogo questioned.
"Well why don't we ask the people who actually stopped them?" Wasabi turned his attention to Sora and her crew. The keyblade wielder in question had stayed quietly watching the group, getting a feel for her surroundings, and new friends.
"Hiro, you never introduced us." Honey Lemon smiled, and Hiro stood up from his seat.
"Oh right," Hiro stood up, introducing each of his teammates to Sora, then reciprocated by introducing Sora and her crew to his team. During the intros Sora noticed the screensaver with their team picture and logo on it… and was suddenly struck with inspiration. Since they were heroes in their own right, they needed their own name… and immediately one struck out to her.
"We are Keyblade Hero 3!"
After introductions, the new heroes were questioned about the heartless. Sora did her best to explain this to her new friends without disturbing the "world order."
"Ooh now we're talking!" Fred did a few squats from excitement. "Light vs. Darkness, classic conflict!"
"Would you calm down Fred? This is serious." Wasabi scolded.
"Very serious," Honey Lemon agreed. "Sora and her friends have the experience, but we don't have any way to fight them."
"So we're just going to give up?"
"At our current skill set, I estimate our chances at 0.000-" Baymax started to explain but Hiro held up his hands.
"We get it Baymax, no need to crunch the numbers."
Sora looked around at the sour expression and offered up a cheerful smile.
"Hey guys, don't sweat it. We'll take care of the heartless for yah." She placed a confident hand on her hip. "After all, that's why we're here."
Sora stepped forward and glanced back at her friends.
"You ready, Donald? Goofy?"
"Always ready, Sora!" Goofy flexed and strut up behind her with Donald strutting proudly beside him. As the three moved to leave the garage, Hiro suddenly called out.
"Wait!" With determination set on his face, Hiro stepped forward. "We're going too." He held his heart, a soft smile spreading on his lips as he recalled the memory of Tadashi. "We have to help. My brother would have."
Sora smiled at Hiro. There was a story there… something that fueled Hiro's desire to help people. It brought light and warmth into his and his team's hearts, and Sora could see it clearly.
"Great but…. Don't we need a plan?" Wasabi pointed out.
"We train up!" Fred spoke up and started posing elaborately like usual. "When heroes are at their lowest, they get new powers." He flipped his mask back on and stood in a ninja-type pose. "It's Shuugyo time!"
"Did you read that in Geek's Quarterly?" Gogo teased.
"Fred's actually not wrong." Hiro laughed. "I may have an idea."
Hiro immediately got to work, quickly sketching a design on a set of blue prints and then reformatting it into his computer. Curious Sora leaned over his chair and blinked in wonder.
"Wow, this is so high-tech. I don't know anything about computers and technology, so this is really impressive to me, Hiro."
"Thanks, uh…" Hiro turned, and blushed realizing just how close their faces were. The girl had absolutely zero sense of personal space. "Mind giving me some room?"
"Hmm?" She turned her face, met his eyes, then stepped back. "Whoops, sorry bout that."
"It's…. Okay." he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Hiro, your skin is flushed, and you're experiencing a rise in body temperature." Baymax showed concern, Hiro tensed up at having his "condition" exposed. His teammates immediately took the opening.
"Aww someone's got a crush on the new girl." Wasabi whispered to Honey-Lemon who giggled in response. The snort and giggles from the words cause Hiro's blush to worsen.
"It is possible that the strenuous activities are causing you to catch a cold." Baymax stepped up and popped pills from one of his fingers. "Please take these antibiotics, and fever reducers, and I shall fetch you some water to keep you hydrated."
"Uh, thanks, Baymax." He accepted the pills and water, not ready to explain that his condition had nothing to do with being sick.
Sora, oblivious to the taunting, spent her time playing with the Gummi-Phone. She'd taken several pictures of the city already, and forwarded them to Riku… but she got no response.
"Weird… he usually responds right away." Sora murmured with a worried expression.
"Well he and the king are in the realm of darkness. I doubt they really have time to be looking at their phones."
"I guess you're right." She sighed and held the phone to her chest. "Still… I can't help but feel like… he needs me right now."
~The Realm of Darkness~
Riku cut through the heartless, his new keyblade stronger than ever, and eliminating enemies almost effortlessly. Still there were many of them, and quantity was proving stronger than quality.
"You okay, Riku?" Mickey asked as the current horde of heartless surrounded them.
"Yeah, we're almost back to the beach… but there's way more heartless in this area then there were before." Riku looked down at the charm on his keyblade, stroking the star shape and picturing Sora in his mind. Her light helped ease the weight on his chest, and he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Alright…" He closed his eyes, held the keyblade in both hands to steady himself before going into an attack position. When his eyes opened, the horde rushed forward, and he sliced through them one by one.
When the horde finally vanished, Riku stood tall and calm once again. He lifted the charm back into eye view and smiled at it.
"This is proving more useful than before. I'm glad I decided to keep it with me this way."
"Having regrets of not taking Sora with us?" Mickey wondered aloud. "She really seemed concerned about you when we left. Do you think maybe she sensed what was going on down here?"
"It's possible… Sora may be oblivious about a lot of things… but she's got good instincts. She can tell when something feels off, or wrong. The only problem is she always acts on it, without thinking clearly, and it tends to put her in unnecessary danger."
"I've got a conscience, it's speaking to me loud and clear. It's telling me you're on the wrong side!"
"I-I'm sorry. For a minute I just... had this feeling… that I didn't want you to go."
Riku held his heart, his smile soft and warm. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the box he'd picked up in Radiant Garden before leaving on his mission. He popped it open, and the glimmering gold ring, with a unique synthesized star shaped gem, rested inside.
"I've done a lot of things that have led to regrets, Mickey." He closed the box and tucked it protectively away inside his vestment. "... but if there's one thing I don't regret, it's that everything I did was to protect her."
"Mmmm…" Mickey smiled and gave a nod. "Then let's hurry up and find Aqua. the faster we find her, the less likely Sora is to come down here after us."
"Right!" Riku walked forward, sighing a little bit as his own worries lingered in the back of his mind. "I'm not the only one that protects what they love no matter what it costs them."
~Ask Briry~
Briry: Sorry for the long delay in updates. I hope this makes up for it! After San Fransokyo we're gonna get into the really juicy bits of KH3 so if you haven't completed the game, please be wary of spoilers.
Next Chapter: City Life Pt. 2