Kingdom Hearts
Ch. 47
Traverse Town
Dinner at Cid's
Back in the Third District, Leon made his way up to Cid's house with his wife and Jiminy in her hands. "So, did you find Ansem's reports useful?" he asked Jiminy.
The chronicler took out his journal flipping the page to the notes he made from Ansem's reports. "To be honest I was expecting more. Was that really all you have?"
Aerith sighed, "Yes, Cid was only able to secure one of Ansem's reports. We should wait till the others get here to discuss it in detail so everyone's on the same page." Leon led them to a door near the exit of the Third District. He knocked on the door waiting for someone to answer.
Cid opened the door with a dirty apron on with cigarette in his mouth. "Oh, you guys are just on time," he said in a rusty old voice. He let them into his tiny home. The living room contained a large dining table that was all set for company.
Smoke protruded from the door leading to the kitchen. Yuffie poked her head out of the room to see her friends have finally arrived. "Hey guys, you got to try this tea me and Goofy made," she said walking out of the kitchen with a wooden tray holding a hot tea pot with some tiny cups.
"Oh, hey there," said Goofy from the kitchen. He was too busy with the meal to greet his friends properly. Jiminy hopped onto the dining room table to see a tiny table made from an old cigarette box that was fitted out for someone just his size.
"Cid, I'm surprised you let someone else man the kitchen for once," said Leon folding his arms while lying back on the wall.
"What, he insisted. But seriously for a guy named Goofy he's pretty handy with the kitchen equipment," said Cid.
"Of course, every family needs a cook. And I was the most qualified to do so," said Goofy sticking his head out of the door. He then moved back focusing on the meal.
The clock rang at 7 o'clock. Then a puff of smoke appeared in the room. "Presto!" said Merlin with Archimedes standing on the old wizard's shoulder. "Right on time," remarked Merlin.
Donald was next to him appearing a bit tired out. "Oh, Master Merlin. How was your travels?" said Aerith giving the old wizard a hug.
"Oh, you know. We go here and there till you just don't know why you left in the first place. And then you find your way back home," Merlin remarked.
"Oh, I'm sure Archimedes wasn't much of a fuss," she remarked giving the owl a quirky smile.
"Please my dear. I'm the one who was keeping this old man from getting lost. He still thinks he's in his prime," said Archimedes.
"Well I'll have you know the older a wizard gets the more incredible he becomes," said Merlin fixing his glasses again.
"Master Merlin, I made some tea out of the herbs you gave me," said Yuffie. She set down the wooden tray grabbing the tea pot by the handle and began pouring the tea into the tiny cups. "One cup for everyone," she said smiling.
"Dinner is served," shouted Goofy. He took out a triangle and ringed it signaling that dinner has begun. Cid and Leon went to the kitchen to help bring out the food. The others sat down in their respective seats. Goofy and the others brought out the food they were preparing. Goofy carried a big pot with roast beef in it. Cid carried two bowls of rice. While Leon brought with him a pot of mashed potatoes mixed with corn.
"Wait we can't eat yet. Where is Sora? He'll freak out if we eat without him," said Goofy before sitting down to this scrum shish meal he prepared.
"Sora may be a while. He set off to find the keyhole," said Leon sitting down.
"Wait what!" shouted Donald and Goofy.
Aerith went on to explain everything they told Sora in the catacombs. Donald and Goofy began to get worried. "You mean Sora went off all by himself. To seal this world away. And he didn't ask us for help," said a worried Goofy.
"Sora can't do anything without our help. He's wouldn't know what to do even if he had an instruction guide," smirked Donald.
"You should trust Sora more. He needs to do this alone. Have faith in your friend. He'll be here soon. Just watch," said Leon with his eyes closed and hands under his chin.
They all soon heard a knock on the door. Cid who was nearest to the door went up to get it. He opened the door to find Sora and Tarzan waiting for him. "Huh, Sora you look terrible," said Cid putting out his cigarette. This caught everyone's attention.
Sora walked into the room with blood falling down his forehead. "Whelp, have no fear the keyblade wielder is victorious. I sealed the keyhole no problem at all." He giggled despite his beaten state.
Merlin brought his wand preparing to heal Sora. But when he saw his pupil Aerith doing the same thing he put his wand away. "Curaga", she sounded. Green magic rained over Sora.
His wounds were healed, and his head injuries were gone. "Aw you didn't have to do that. I'm simply fine," he smirked.
Everyone else giggled along with him. "So, you sealed the keyhole. That's good. Sora, thank you," Aerith said.
Yuffie ran over and wrapped her arms around Sora. "Oh, thank you so much." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek before letting go of him. Sora smiled rubbing the back of his head.
"Yep, you we knew we could count on you," said Goofy placing his hands-on Sora's shoulders from behind.
"You bet. I never doubted you for a second," remarked Donald waddling over to his friends.
"Wait, weren't you the one that said that Sora's can't do anything alone just a few moments ago," said Archimedes cocking an eyebrow at the duck.
"You said what!" said Sora staring back to Donald.
"Ha ha," giggled Donald a bit embarrassed. They all laughed together before Cid interrupted them.
"Hey then who's this guy." Cid pointed out into the streets.
Yuffie looked out the door to Tarzan standing in the dark. She noticed that he was only wearing a loincloth. She saw his sexy muscles and bear chest. She blushed a bit debating whether she was just seeing things. "Oh, you guys guess who I just found," Sora went back to the door leading Tarzan in the old house.
"Donald, Goofy, Jiminy," he spoke softly.
"WHAT!" they all shouted. Donald and Goofy leaped at the ape man hugging him tightly. "Oh, Tarzan. You're okay," they said. Tarzan seemed to welcome any sign of affection as he was unbothered by his friends hugging him.
"You guys this is Tarzan. The guy we were telling you about," said Sora to Leon and the others.
"Yes, but how is this possible?" said Jiminy jumping out of his seat to the edge of the table. Aerith also noticed Tarzans almost naked body. The deep brown eyes and long hair made her feel a little strange. Leon watched his wife's reaction of the man grunting a bit in annoyance.
Aerith coming to her senses moved forward explaining, "Well it's just like what happened with you Sora. When a world is destroyed people with strong hearts can escape its fate. They will eventually end up here as this place only appears when someone is looking for a home. Tarzan's heart was strong enough to survive the destruction of his world."
"My world," Tarzan pointing his head down.
"Tarzan," said Sora sympathizing with him.
Sora sniffed into the air noticing all the food on the table. "Wow, this all looks really good. Man, I'm starving." His stomached growled as drool fell down his lips.
Yuffie stepped forward glancing at Tarzan whenever she could speaking, "Well we don't know much about you. But I say let's make a toast. For our worlds savior. So, we can finally live in peace without worrying about the heartless anymore. After that let's eat up before the food gets cold." Yuffie handed everyone a cup of tea. She even made a small cup just for Jiminy and another for Archimedes.
"Tea is meant to be drank hot. I hope you like it. Me and Goofy wiped it up ourselves," she said taking the last cup for herself. She raised it into the air. The others followed her.
Tarzan did not understand so he kept his cup next to him. Archimedes held his cup up with his right foot. "To us. To the survivors. To hope. And to the Light," she shouted.
She then swallowed the tea whole with everyone else following her. After each person drank their tea. Each had an opinion about it.
Yuffie felt refreshed and proud. Goofy felt grateful and confident about what other people will think of his tea. Donald really felt nothing. Jiminy was quite satisfied with the drink he was given as was Merlin. Archimedes coughed a little as the drink was not meant for owls. Cid gave no indication on what he felt. Leon liked it too. Aerith smiled after finishing her cup. But only to be polite. Actually, she hated it. It tasted bitter and she tried as hard as she could to keep a straight face. Sora never drank tea before. And according to his home culture. If you don't like something you ate, spit it out. Which he did right on Cid's wooden floor. "What on earth is this. It tastes terrible," he groaned.
Everyone's looked at Sora's face in disbelief. "What, didn't you hate it too?" he asked. Cid sighed grabbing a towel by the door wiping the liquid off his floor. Tarzan did not drink his cup with everyone. He waited until after they were done. He sniffed the drink and examined it. He then took a sip of the cup finishing it. "Good drink," he said discarding the cup.
Yuffie blushed again at Tarzan. "He liked it. He really liked it."
They all sat down together setting up their plates and eating utensils. Sora sat on one side near the door with Tarzan sitting next to him. Yuffie quickly rushed over to the seat next to the ape man. Aerith followed sitting next to Yuffie with Leon sitting on the right. Cid sat across from Sora. Goofy was next to him then Merlin and then Donald. Jiminy sat in his personal made table. Archimedes flew on the table landing in-between Merlin and Donald. Sora took off his gloves before folding and placing them under his seat. Aerith watched this realizing that it was a common thing he would do.
Leon lifted his hand for the spoon in the rice bowl. Before he could grab it, Sora reached his arm out grabbing a hand full of rice. With the other he grabbed a hand full of mashed potatoes. Leaving a bit of a mess on the table as drops of food fell from his hands. He stuffed his whole face with his food. Quickly chewing and swallowing the food.
Tarzan saw Sora's eating style and followed it. He reached for the roast beef grabbing the tender meat only to let go as it was too hot. "Ow," he said to himself.
Everyone looked in confusion. Watching both these heroes just devour their food like pigs. Sora reached out his hands again to grab more food. Merlin took out his wand slapping Sora and Tarzan's wrists. "Hey what was that for. Why aren't you all eating?" he said frustrated.
"Boy, I don't know what world you come from, but you can't just grab food with your hands," Merlin explained annoyed.
They all nodded. "Oh, sorry guys. This is how Sora usually eats. He just doesn't stop eating until all the foods gone," said Jiminy.
Sora felt a bit awkward. Though he didn't understand why. Tarzan seemed a bit confused. "But isn't this how everyone eats," he said cocking his eyebrow.
"Okay, now this makes sense. My bad Sora. I wasn't aware," said Merlin humbling.
"Dang your people must be pigs if you just eat like that," said Cid.
"Huh, don't you all eat like this?" he asked.
"We should have realized sooner. This is just a matter of cultural differences. Sora's from a world where this type of behavior is normal. But in most worlds people don't eat that way," said Jiminy setting his hat next to him.
Merlin pointed his wand at the food. "Presto," he sounded. The food was then refurbished back to its original status. He then tapped the pots to spark a fire show of magic. The pots and bowls on the table floated in the air hopping around person to person. The spoon in the bowls began to move scooping up the mashed potatoes and rice. Pouring equal shares on every plate. The roast beef was next which the knife began to cut. The fork stuck in the meat moved from its placing. Sticking in the cut meat picking it up before setting in on the plate. It did this until everyone got an equal amount of food. "There we go. Sora, you need to learn that most worlds have different customs with eating. Follow our lead and eat the way we do. If you don't know this you may cause some fuss when you visit other worlds," explained Merlin.
Everyone around them agreed with the wizard. They began eating after that. Sora and Tarzan watched as they were using their forks and knifes to eat. Sora looked over to Tarzan to see him quickly adapting to everyone's eating habits.
Sora looked down at his food while grabbing a fork with his hand. He stuck it in the meat before lifting it up placing it in his mouth. He seemed a bit annoyed thinking too himself, "Why do I have to do this at all?"
Conversations began to erupt in the dining room. Yuffie infatuated by Tarzan kept talking to him with a giddy voice. Aerith was often distracted by there conversation. Leon pretended not to notice. Jiminy kept to himself. Merlin took out a bowl and poured bird seed in it. Archimedes began to eat with everyone else. Merlin conversed with Donald and Goofy talking about the adventures they had. Cid remained silent while eating. Sora took his fork and stuffed his mouth full of all the food on the plate. He finished before everyone else. After that he got more food and began eating again.
Donald remarked to Sora, "You shouldn't eat so fast. It's not good for your health." Sora stopped putting his fork down.
"On my home world. Nobody could leave the table until all the food is gone. It's disrespectful to do something in between eating. We have more food then we know what to do with. And wasting food is a taboo. So, we eat it all so none of it gets wasted. But you all eat differently I guess. I respect that. And I'll do my best to follow your example." He continued eating as if he said nothing at all.
No one could think of anything to say back. They all just went on their way eating.
Sora continued to eat nonstop throughout the entire time. Leaves no leftovers what so ever. "Well that was really good," said Donald stretching in his chair.
Cid, Yuffie, and Goofy took the dirty dishes to the sink in the kitchen. The others turned to Tarzan who barley said a word the entire time. He stared at everyone waiting for them to speak. Merlin stood up and began to explain to Tarzan everything that's going on.
After a while Merlin finished his lecture to the silent ape man. "Tarzan. Are you going to be okay. Do you understand?" said Sora concerned.
The ape man nodded. "I understand," he said starring away from everyone.
"Uh, Aerith you were talking about the Ansem reports," said Donald. The others came back from the kitchen. Cid stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Yuffie was next to him and Goofy stood behind Donald. Leon already got up leaning back on the wall folding his arms.
"Yes," she said nodding to Jiminy. The cricket reached in his hat pulling out his journal. He turned to his notes reading out loud what Ansem has written.
Ansem's Report 1
Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge.
That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that.
I am blessed with people's smiles and respect. But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand.
I believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times.
Darkness...Darkness of the heart. How is it born?
How does it come to affect us so?
As ruler of this world, I must find the answers. I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness.
"So, this Ansem must have made an important discovery about the heartless," said Donald folding his arms.
"Yes, though we don't know where the rest of the pages are located. We believe she may have them," explained Aerith.
"She?" asked Goofy.
"You guys ever hear of Maleficent?" said Cid breaking his silence. Sora shakes his head as Leon leans against the wall. "I hear she's in town." Cid says placing his hand on his thighs.
"Who is she?" asked Sora.
"A witch, man, she's a witch!" explained Cid.
"She's the reason this town is full of Heartless. Don't take her lightly," said Leon.
Aerith explained, "She's been using the Heartless for years."
Cid went on, "We lost our world, thanks to her. One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world! That was nine years ago. I grabbed a few pieces of paper from Ansem's lab without knowing what was contained in them. I got out of that mess and came here taking these guys with me."
"That's awful!" said Donald.
Leon continued, "Our ruler was a wise man named Ansem. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless. His report should tell us how to get rid of the Heartless."
"Where's the rest of this report?" said Sora.
"We don't know? It got scattered when our world was destroyed," she explained.
"I'm sure Maleficent's got most of the pages," said Cid.
The group of friends continued to converse with each other. But outside the real Maleficent stands with Riku, gazing at them through the windows of the house. "You see? It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you."
She looks down at Riku as he stares with narrow, unblinking eyes. "You're better off without that wretched boy." She bends down to his level, giving him a smile. "Now, think no more of him and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for..." Riku remains silent. A dark portal appears behind them. They back into it before they disappear into the darkness.
