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Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!
My OCs © to me!
Other OCs © to their respective owners!
Chapter 31: Bar Fight
"KAIRI!"
"Lucky… It's almost time for bed. What are you screaming about?"
"Forget sleep! Get dressed again and I'll have an energy drink waiting for you! I'm getting Stella."
Kairi rubbed her eyes as she redressed. Why was it soooo important that sleep had to be sacrificed for it?
The girl tromped down the hall to Stella's cave. The blonde had practically barricaded herself inside the last few days.
"Stel, open this door!" Lucky knocked. "Stella! I know you're waiting for your new equipment, but you can't lock yourself inside forever." Lucky glanced over at Kairi. "She needs to get some air." The supply manager knelt down, pulling out a few tools from her pocket, which she stuck in the door lock.
A minute later, she turned the handle and swung the door open.
Kairi stepped in after her friend. Stella sat hunched in her chair in front of torn apart computer parts. Seemed she'd either been tampering with them or had been trying to fix her old stuff.
"Steeeeeeella!" Lucky grabbed the blonde, jerking her out of the seat. "Let's go!"
"Lucky, leave me alone." Stella huffed.
"No! I'm not going by myself."
"Going where?"
"To get the orichalcum+ for your Keyblade of course. I'm meeting my contact tonight."
Stella glared. "And why am I going?"
"To get out of this hole and to blow off some steam. Come on."
Stella groaned, but let Lucky drag her out.
"Alright. Kairi, you know some hand to hand combat, right?"
"Yeah."
"And Stel, you have your shock pistol?"
"Yes."
"Great!" The three girls went downstairs and hopped into a cab.
Kairi looked across at the angry Stella, who glared out the window silently. Ever since she got hacked, Stella had been… distant. Angry.
Her pride in her work shattered.
"So, Lucky, where are we going?"
"Well, my contact from the black market is meeting me at a bar. I've got the cash, and he's got the goods. Thing is, I got a new guy who doesn't really know how much it's worth, so I got it cheap."
"You lied to him."
"No, I just neglected to tell him the exact price. But we did sign a contract, so he can't go back on the deal." Lucky smirked. "That being said, I have a feeling he'll try and screw me over anyways. That's why you two are here. You've both had it rough these last few weeks, and I've found that there's nothing more therapeutic than punching the lights out of some thugs."
Could… could Kairi legally enter a bar?
Even if she couldn't, that wouldn't stop Lucky.
The cab stopped near… what could only be described as a seedy pub. It literally looked like a place to make back alley deals or get stabbed through the ribs.
Great.
Really great.
"Stay close and don't make eye contact with anyone unless you want their attention."
"Have you done this before?" Stella asked.
Lucky waved her hand. "Oh, only a few times… five I think."
"Oh my gosh, Lucky."
The blue-haired girl just grinned as they entered. She glanced around before walking directly to a table where a young man with long inky black hair sat, his eyes shifting around nervously.
"Oh Kalas(1)!"
"Shut it! Are you trying to get us noticed."
Lucky laughed. "Ok, first rule to being sneaky, don't try to be sneaky. You just look suspicious." She slid into the chair across from Kalas, turning back to wink at the two girls who stood awkwardly behind her.
Kairi glanced around. Her parents would kill her if they knew she was in a place like this.
But what they don't know can't hurt them.
"Just be quiet. And who are they? You never said anything about friends?"
"I trust them, and they need to be here."
"Fine, whatever. Do you have the cash?"
"Of course. And do you have the thing I asked for?"
"Yes, but I think we need to renegotiate a bit."
"A bit?"
Kalas leaned across the table, grinning. "A little birdie told me this thing is worth way more than 30,000 gil. He said it's somewhere around 3 million. So, I think you owe me a bit more, Miss Lucky."
He glanced around, Kairi and Stella tensed as they saw a few men come closer.
So he had backup.
"Thing is," Lucky said calmly, "we signed a deal, which you read aloud, that said we weren't negotiating the price further. Now, I would've been willing to go up or down a little, but 3 million is far too much. So, take the 30,000, or I'll make you take it."
"Or I'll just take both."
A man reached for Lucky's shirt collar only for Stella to whip him with the butt of her shock pistol.
"BAR FIGHT!"
And that was it.
Everything seemed to freeze for a moment until someone grabbed a bottle of wine and hit another person with it. The bar erupted in an all-out brawl.
Stella fired her pistol at someone who charged her way. "I've always wanted to do that…"
Kairi laughed as she kicked another man away.
When the fight erupted, Lucky flipped the table, sending Kalas to the floor before she pulled out her shotgun.
No need for bullets though. She just hit people with it.
The girls weren't sure who they were hitting, but anyone who came close was a target. Kairi, after punching the lights out of some guy who tried to grab her hair, spotted Kalas, crawling away in the confusion.
"Oh no you don't!" She jumped over the flipped table, slipping through the cluster of people in her way. Her fingers clasped around the top of a beer bottle. "You're not going anywhere!"
She swung her arm down, smashing the bottle over the man's head.
"Nice job!" Lucky appeared beside her, shoving the 30,000 into the dazed man's coat before grabbing a box from his pocket. She opened it and grinned. "Pleasure doing business with you. STELLA! We're going!"
"Coming!" The three girls jumped onto the bartop and ran around most of the confusion.
Lucky dropped the bartender a bag. "That should cover everything! Sorry about the mess!"
They leapt out the door, hailing a nearby cab. Tumbling in, Stella gasped. "Military HQ!" And the cab took off.
Silence.
They leaned against the back seat, panting.
"Heh." Kairi breathed out the first laugh.
The three dissolved into giggles, which changed to full on laughter.
"I can't believe we just did that!"
"That was awesome!"
Kairi pulled off her hat, still laughing. "I've never done anything like that before in my life! I just broke a bottle over someone's head…"
They all fell once more into laughter.
Halfway back to base the laughing finally subsided as their adrenaline began to wane. "How did you get us into that?" Stella breathed out.
"Thank Magia I guess. He got me in touch with that guy."
"Oh. So Kalas was a Yakuza guy?"
"I think he was just a mule they used sometimes."
They fell silent again.
"At least he's using his connections for us." Stella muttered. "But, I don't know how to feel about what he did."
Kairi nodded but smiled slightly. "I can forgive him. I mean, I forgave my friend Riku after he let a maniac take over his body and subsequently almost destroy the universe. And I forgave Axel who kidnapped me. I think I can forgive Magia."
"You're such a sweetie, Kairi."
Stella stared out the window again. "Do you think he had anything to do with me getting hacked?"
"No." Lucky shook her head. "Magia wouldn't do that to you, and besides, the LLE stuff was sabotaged not the Yakuza surveillance. It was probably the LLE guy who was able to hack the giga's network. You said it yourself that whoever did that was better than you."
Stella nodded. "Yeah… guess so. But I still don't know how they did it. I double and triple checked everything. My defense was flawless, and yet… I…" Whether from the memory or the remnants of adrenaline, the girl began crying. "My screwup nearly got you killed, Kairi. You and a team of soldiers. That was on me. I should've seen it. I'm sorry…"
Kairi reached over, taking the girl's hand. "I've never blamed you for that. You're my friend and you would never hurt me. But if it makes you feel better, I forgive you."
Stella's lip began quivering as she sobbed. "You're the best! Thank you… I was so worried you blamed me… I just. I feel so bad… But I won't let it happen again. I promise."
Kairi and Lucky smiled. Lucky threw her arms around the two. "We'll watch out for each other. We're besties after all!"
"Besties?"
"Best friends! Unless-"
Kairi grinned. "No, you're right. Besties!" The three girls hugged as the cab pulled to a stop.
"Lucky, do you have the manifest for my new computer?"
"Yeah, it should arrive tomorrow. And here." She handed Kairi the box. "Orichalcum+. One step closer. Go find Magia, I think he has another piece."
"Thanks."
"Hold on!" Stella grabbed Kairi's arm. "Lucky and I have something for you. I know you can't use it yet, but you will." She handed Kairi a small keychain; a pink rod with a heart on top and some wings. "I've had this for years, and I think you should have it."
Lucky handed her a dressphere. "And this is to go with it."
"We may have acted hopeful with the design. We really hope the Keyblade is like a magical girl thing… we both really like this anime about magical girls, and even though the show is dark, the magical girl powers are super cool, and you would look so cool as one!"
Kairi giggled, pocketing the keychain and dressphere. "Thanks! I hope it turns out how you hoped. And maybe you can show me this anime sometime."
"Sure!"
"Just be warned, it won't go how you expect(2)."
"Nothing ever does." Kairi headed up the stairs, yawning a little. "Later, besties!"
"Later Kairi!"
"Kairi!"
The girl stopped as she passed the training room. "What…? I'm going to bed."
"Put a pause on that," Magia grabbed her arm and pulled her into the training room where Aegis and Yozora sat, "because I've got two things to tell you! First, guess who got an official pardon from the king… THIS GUY! Though, I do have to be a double agent now for the military against the Yakuza, but I'm ok with that. And second," He pulled out a small blue gem. "Orichalcum!"
Kairi's eyes lit up as she pulled out a box. "Lucky, Stella, and I just got the orichalcum+!"
"Oh wow! Lucky works fast. Hope it wasn't too hard to get."
"We got in a bar fight, and I broke a bottle over someone's head to get it."
Magia let out a deep laugh. "Wow! You must be tired."
"So," Aegis crossed something off the list in his hand. "All we need is mithril."
"I think I have some." Kairi whispered. "But I'm not sure."
"Alright, check on that."
"Then," Chirithy appeared with a poof, "we have everything but the magical place."
"Which Phinehas is working on."
Chirithy tapped his chin. "Alright… so we need to finish things up if we're almost ready to go. Kairi, do you think your heart is ready to forge a Keyblade?"
"No. I don't think I am."
The dream eater sat down. "Then I think it's time for you to visit him in your dreams."
"Huh?"
"Sora." He glanced over at Yozora. "And maybe we can help Yozora too. I might be able to guide both of your dreams to the final world so you can talk to the people you need to."
Yozora's eyes lit up. "You can do that?"
"I can. Normally you'd have to think of the person you want to see, but after watching Kairi's dreams, I think I can guide you both directly there. It will help Kairi get the closure she needs, and you can find the maiden and maybe remember everything."
"Then let's do it!"
Aegis stood up. "So, what do we do?"
"We need a place they can lay down, preferably close to one another, so I can be close to both of them."
Magia nodded. "That won't be a problem." He put a finger to his comlink. "Atlas, hey do you have two beds available in the same room?" He grinned. "Great! We want a reservation for tonight." He pulled his finger away. "Done."
Kairi felt her heart skip. She was going to see him…
Finally.
"Let's do it."
10 chapters from the end!
Hope you enjoyed it!
Footnotes:
(1) Kalas is a reference to the antagonist of the ninja questline in FF14. The antagonist's name is Karasu Kanshi. Karasu means crow, as does Kalas.
(2) This show I'm imagining them watching is "Puella Magia Modoka Magica", which I watched recently and fell in love with the show. It was crazy and dark, and not what I pictured at all for a magical girl anime.
VAs:
Kalas Kanshi- Kyle McCarley (Evan Edroch, Claudia Hodgins, Yushiro, 9S)