AN ~ So for those of you who have no idea what this is... welcome! This is basically an AU oneshot collection dedicated to my ongoing KH3 canon-divergence fic, Keys to the Kingdom (see link on my profile page please!), seriously make sure to check that out first because you'll have NO idea what's going on here if you don't! Anyway, I don't really have much of a plan for posting these oneshots consistently, I have several ideas in mind for concepts for them, and I'll be writing them basically whenever I get inspired to do them. I'll make sure to post a bit of context to each oneshot before we dive into them, just to make things clear. And with that all out of the way, let's get started with our first one!
I'll be vague about this first AU idea. Let's just say that the context is that everything is exactly the same here as it is in Keys itself, save for one key difference... ;) You'll see what it is... Enjoy!
Legacy
They run across the shoreline, leaving small footprints behind in the sand in their wake. Their shared laughter echoes across the beach, as bright and warm as the sun shining down upon them both. The girl eventually catches up with the boy, barreling into him and knocking him down into the shallow waves as she falls along with him. They're still laughing as they land in the water together.
"Caught you!" the girl teases, a wide, easy smile on her face. "Again."
"You always do," the boy chuckles as he gently splashes his friend. "But don't forget, I always catch you too, Thalassa."
She returns his splash, her playful grin sparking something sweet and happy within his heart. That feeling soon fades, however, as he happens to cast a glance out at the vast sea stretching out before them. "Do you ever wonder what's out there?"
"Out on the ocean?" she arcs an eyebrow as her gaze shifts to the sea too. "You've heard what the adults say; there's nothing on the sea beyond the islands. This is all there is."
"This is all there is…" he repeats in a whisper. It's a phrase just about everyone on the islands is used to, something every single one of its residents accepts as a solid, unwavering fact. And yet… "But what if there's more out there?" he turns to her. His expression is intent and focused, yet far away all at the same time. "What if, somewhere beyond the ocean, there's an entire world that nobody's ever seen before?"
"Sounds like someone's been daydreaming again," she smirks, playfully poking his nose.
"I'm serious!" he protests, rising to his feet. "There has to be more than our tiny islands out there; there's gotta be something else! And if there is, then I want to see it all. And I want you to come with me, Thalassa."
She's still smiling as she shakes her head, but she accepts the hand he offers to her anyway. "I still think you've got your head in the clouds, but… if there really is something else out there, then ok," she relents as she places both of her hands securely in his. "I'll go with you to see it."
His silver eyes shine bright when he hears this, and she feels her heart swell at the sight. She's even more elated when he wraps his arms around her in a close, caring embrace, something she's more than used to by this point, but something she still completely melts within every time.
And, somewhere in the shore behind them, nearly on the verge of being swallowed up by the rising tide, is a heart drawn into the sand. Within it are two names tied together by that heart, by the budding, blossoming feelings between them both:
Thalassa + Xehanort
"There you are!" she waves to him as he approaches the tree she's already sitting on. The tense, tight look on his face is all but lost on her as excited and nervous as she currently is. "I have something I want to give you."
"Can it wait?" he asks. He doesn't come to sit on the tree alongside her like he normally would. "I… t-there's something I need to tell you. It's important."
"Oh," her smile fades but she nods nonetheless. "Of course, what is it?"
He's silent for quite some time as he leans against the tree, staring out at the sea as he so often does. "I'm leaving the islands," he finally says an eternity later.
"W-what?" she balks, mystified by the very thought. "Xehanort, what are you talking about? There's nothing beyond the islands, you know there's not-"
"There is Thalassa!" he turns to her, his expression and tone both serious, insistent. "Lately I've been having dreams-visions of worlds outside our own! I even met… someone who offered me a way to see it all."
"Who? Who did you meet? What did they tell you?"
He hesitates, unsure of how to tell her about the hooded stranger, the stranger who showed him a glimpse of everything his future could be, everything it should be. Everything it will never be if he lingers on these tiny, empty islands he's always called home. "H-he told me about the worlds beyond," he says, closing his eyes thoughtfully. "And he said I was ready to take my place among them. Which means we're ready to take our place among them."
"Xehanort, w-what are you saying?"
He takes her hand and smiles, but there's something unsettling behind his grin. Something she can't quite place; she's never seen it before. "Remember what you said? That if I ever find a way off the islands, then you'll go with me? Well, I still want you to go with me, Thalassa. There's no one else I'd rather have by my side to see the worlds with than you."
Her heart both sinks and soars when she hears this, and for a brief, fleeting moment, she almost says yes. She almost falls into his arms and lets him carry her off to whatever grand adventure in whatever unknown world he wants to take her to. She almost goes with him… but then… "Xehanort, I-I… I can't…" she sighs, grounding herself back into reality. "My mother's still sick and my father needs help running the store and I… I just can't pack up and leave my family behind now, not when they need me most."
"I'm sure your family will understand, Thalassa," he counters quickly, dismissively. "Think of the opportunity we have here! Think of what we could do, what we could see! There's so much more than these tiny islands we've always known. You can't let your life here tie you down forever!"
"I like my life here," she protests firmly, her expression stern. "I like living with my family, I love our islands, the sea, the town, everything about them. This place, Xehanort… it's our home. How could you just… turn your back on that? On me?"
"I'm not turning my back on you!" he argues, his frustration seemingly rising. "I told you, I want you to come with me! I want us to be together, just like we always have been!"
"I can't," she reiterates tiredly. She almost adds that she might, if she wasn't like him, didn't have a family still tying her down, anchoring her here. But she refrains, largely to avoid hurting him any more than she already is. "Believe me, Xehanort, I wish I could, but… my place is here. And here is where I'm staying."
He goes silent for a long time once more, several different emotions running across his face at once: anger, fear, grief, all things that make her guilt burn even hotter than it already is. When he speaks, his voice is soft, shaken, sad. "So… that's your final answer then?"
"Yes…" she nods, closing her eyes. Her voice is barely above a whisper, and the warm setting sun suddenly feels ice cold as it falls upon her. "It is…"
She doesn't hear anything else from him. When she opens her eyes a moment later, he's gone, without even offering her so much as a single goodbye.
Her tears fall into the ocean. And so too does what she'd planned on sharing with him before it all went wrong. A pair of perfectly ripe paopu fruits, now floating apart upon the sea.
He returns a year later. And when he does, she's the first and only person he goes to see. He catches her off guard as she's strolling along the shore. He runs to her, wraps his arms around her, lifts her off her feet and spins her around, laughing all the while. She laughs too, in spite of herself, amazed at how different he seems after his time away. And yet, he's still every bit the boy she grew up alongside, the boy she fell in love with. His smile is still bright, his eyes still shine as he tells her about his training in a far off city called Scala ad Caelum, as he shows her his peculiar weapon of choice (a Keyblade, he calls it), as he tells her all about his fellow pupils, about all of the worlds he's wandered to and everything he's seen. She listens intently, curiously as they sit on the sand together, the setting sun sparkling on the sea before them. Eventually, their conversation starts to slow, their faces draw closer together, and then…
For the first time, they kiss.
And in that one, solitary second, she thinks maybe, just maybe, they'll get to be together after all.
But then…
"Come with me," he offers her again after their lips lightly part.
"Xehanort…." she sighs, pulling away. "We've been over this, I can't-"
"Why not?" he presses, placing a hand against the side of her face. "There's nothing left to tie you down here." And it's true; her mother passed away months ago, and when she did, her grieving father sold the family store. She could go with him now, it would be of little consequence to anyone here on the islands if she did. And yet, some small, scared part of her anchors her to this place, keeps her tethered to the only home she's ever had. Stops her from taking the hand the boy she loves offers out to her. "You could back with me to Scala," he offers all the same with an eager, encouraging smile. "My master would be more than willing to take you under his wing, and you could meet my classmates-Urd, Bragi, Vor, Hermod-oh, and Eraqus, you'd hit it off with him for sure-"
"Xehanort," she stops him, lowering his hand away from hers. "I'm sorry, but my answer hasn't changed. I'm staying right here where I belong. A-and maybe…" she decides to venture down a new tangent entirely as his smile falls into despair. "Maybe once your training is over… you could come back here for a bit?"
"You… want me to stay here again?" he asks incredulously. "Thalassa, I… I only came back for a visit, I just wanted to see you again. I can't just settle down here again, not after everything I've seen out there."
"You wouldn't come back… not even for me?" she asks, tears already brimming in her eyes.
She expects a no, but the answer he actually gives surprises her. Gives her hope for a future that she once thought she'd never get to have with him, a future that may just be possible after all. "For you?" he places a gentle kiss upon her forehead. "I would. You're the only thing here worth coming back to, after all."
Which is why, when he leaves again, she vows to wait for him, to be standing right there on that same shore whenever he might return for her. And in time, he does return. But when he does, he's not even close to the same boy who'd left her before.
He comes back wearing a coat as black as the depths of midnight. The silver shine she'd come to savor in his eyes is gone, replaced by a stark, sharp gold that she's too afraid to ask him about. His manner is reserved, quiet as he approaches her on the beach, both of them a few years older, a few years sadder. He doesn't tell her much of what happened over the span of the decade they've spent apart and she's not one to pry. But she can tell something has happened to him, something's changed him, something's hurt him.
And she finds herself striving to take that hurt away.
"Stay with me…" she begs him as they linger together under the moonlight. Tears are in both of their eyes, blue in hers and yellow in his. He holds her in a loose embrace and his coat feels cold, he feels cold, something he never used to be before. But for as much as she yearns for his missing warmth, she finds herself yearning for him even more. "Please… even if it's only for tonight… I just… I want you with me… even if I know it won't last…"
Because it never lasts, not with him. Every ounce of happiness she's ever had with him has been fleeting, brief at best. But she wants him, by the stars in the sky, she's always wanted him, even before he'd left her behind. And by the way he smiles at her when he looks her over, as if some plan or purpose is coming together inside his mind, she realizes he must want her too.
"Alright," he whispers, his manner cool and calculated. But his touch is caring as he lands a soft, sweet kiss against the side of her neck. "I'll stay."
So he does. So they do. Under only the cover of the dark night sky, under a full, pale, lonely moon. No one is around to see, not a soul around to hear. But it happens and it's bliss, but even then it all goes by too fast.
Because when she awakens under the first rays of dawn, he isn't by her side any longer. He's gone, left to some far away world, to some unknown place she knows she can never follow him to.
He's left her behind again, just like he always does. And yet… she still waits for him like the fool she knows she is. She waits for him even as the months pass and her stomach grows round and large. She waits for him as she suffers the pain of childbirth alone, without the support of the man who had brought it upon her. She waits for him as she names their child for the very moon they'd conceived him under.
She waits with their son in her arms, dreaming that someday he might get to have his father, that she might get to have him too. Dreaming that maybe the next time he comes calling, he might just finally decide to stay.
When he does return, he finally, finally decides to do exactly that.
He meets her at her house this time, the innocent shores of their youth long forgotten now. She tries to greet him coldly, tries not to run into his arms, to kiss him, to love him like she still stupidly does anyway. She tries to hate this man she fathered a child with, this man who refuses to stay with her no matter how much she might beg and plead. But then… she sees the look on his face when he gets his first glimpse of their son. The baby is only a few months old by now, a precious, darling child she holds so very close to her heart. She can't help but wonder if he's finding himself feeling the same about that child as she slowly slips him into his awaiting arms.
"What did you name him?" he asks, staring down at the sleeping infant.
"Tsuki," she replies, smiling softly.
"After the moon," he infers correctly, finally grinning himself.
She nods. "You always did love the moon." She pauses for a beat, deciding to be bold enough to lean her head against his shoulder as they both look at their baby. As they all sit together as a family for the first time ever. "He looks so much like you did when you were younger…" she whispers contentedly.
He says nothing to this, instead keeping his focus on the baby. His smile is gone, his gaze sharp and focused, almost as if he's searching for something in their child. Exactly what that something is, she has no idea. Even so, she decides to pose a question to him. A question she's asked him so many times before that she knows the answer well by now. Still, she asks it anyway. "Now that we have him," she begins, her voice wavering as he looks over at her, his yellow gaze piercing her heart and soul alike. "Will you finally stay?"
"Will you be a father to him?" she almost asks. "Will you be a husband to me? Will the three of us ever have a chance at actually being a real family?" Those are the questions she wants to present him with, questions that will back him into a corner, questions that might make him think twice about leaving this time. And yet, the answer he gives to what she actually did ask him nearly shocks her stiff.
"Yes," he nods, his sights still set on her. He doesn't smile, doesn't show much emotion at all really. But he agrees to, at long last, give her the life she's always wanted to have with him. And for both her and her young child, she knows that's more than enough. "I'll stay."
So he stays, but it's nothing like she'd dreamed it'd be.
They live together in her tiny house, but even then she rarely sees him. He's gone most of the day, off doing who knows what, only returning as the sun sets over the sea. She does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to taking care of their son in his younger years, and all the while he's passive toward both her and their child at best. Civil, but uncaring; tolerate, but by all accounts, unaffectionate.
They don't speak much; there's not really anything they have to talk about anymore outside of their son. She tries engaging him with recounting fond memories of their past, but he rebuffs her, solely focused on the future it seems. He never tells her what happened to the friends he used to train alongside, stops regaling her with tales of the countless worlds he's traveled to. He never asks her to marry him, and coldly rejects every proposal she attempts to offer in his stead. Eventually, he stops embracing her, stops kissing her, stops holding her close at night.
Eventually, she realizes, her heart aching as the thought finally hits her, he stops loving her altogether.
Maybe he never really did in the first place.
Despite showing almost no interest in her, however, he does keep a close eye on their son as he starts to grow up. Tuski is a bright, energetic child, with a warm, beaming smile and a sweet, earnest laugh. She adores him with every inch of her heart, and that love is clearly returned. And yet, for as much as Tsuki might love her, she can tell, the more he grows, the more fascinated he becomes by his mysterious father. And the more focused that father becomes on him.
She doesn't protest when he asks her if he can take the boy off for a day alone. Tsuki is 5 now, and tries to spend as much time with his father as he can, what little time his father cares to offer him. Which is why she's surprised by his request, yet readily grants it all the same. Perhaps a bit of genuine father-son bonding is exactly what they both have been needing. It's innocent enough, she thinks. Until her son comes home that night in tears.
She pulls Tsuki aside, out of his father's earshot so he can explain what happened. They'd gone to the play island together, and Tsuki, as young and carefree as he is, believed it was for the sake of a day of playing in the waves together. Yet his father had other ideas in mind. He had shoved a wooden sword into the boy's hand and ordered him to practice with it, teaching him moves and maneuvers that were far too advanced for a child his age. At first, Tsuki hadn't thought much of it-he plays sword-fighting all the time with his friends around the island after all, so what makes playing it with his father any different? But then, their "game" had gone too far when his father had pulled out a large, dark, key-shaped weapon, a bright blue eye emblazoned upon its tip. The sight of such an ominous arm had frightened the child, but his father insisted on sparring with him all the same. On pitting his five year old son, armed only with a weak wooden sword against his own skill and strength and experience.
Needless to say it was a battle Tsuki didn't win.
She pales when she sees the mark that spar had left behind, a bleeding x torn deep across the back of his left hand. His father calmly claims that he tripped, that it had been the result of his own clumsiness and error. It's only after she's wrapped the wound up and is tucking him into bed that night that Tsuki whispers the truth to her in a tight, terrified voice:
"Daddy did it."
The very next night is when she decides enough is finally enough. Behind the closed door of their bedroom, she yells at him, screams at him for so callously hurting their son like this. He responds smoothly, claiming that the boy needs to become stronger, that he needs to learn to fend for himself if he ever wants to have a chance in the worlds. But she firmly argues, rigidly asserting that their son won't be like him, that he won't be the kind of man who walks out on his family time and time again to pursue some dark, unknown dream.
When she tells him this, he simply laughs.
"Thalassa, my dear," he smirks, shifting the dynamic of their debate entirely. "Your worldview is so small, so limited. Perhaps it wouldn't be if you had actually decided to join me when I set out all those years ago. Maybe then we could have been happy together like you wanted."
He reaches in to skim a hand against her face. She swiftly slaps it away. "Don't touch me," she hisses, furiously. "We could have never been happy, even if I had gone with you. The Xehanort I loved died the day he first left this island behind."
"You're right about that," he nods as he draws his hand away from her. "My journey truly has changed me-for the better. It crafted me into someone far stronger, far smarter than I could have ever been if I'd decided to stay here. And that's exactly what I want for our son, too, Thalassa."
"No," she says crossly, her hands in tight, trembling fists at her sides. "I already told you, Tsuki will never be cruel and coldhearted like you are. I won't allow it."
"Really?" he sneers, raising an eyebrow. "And what do you intend to do to keep that from happening?"
She shudders under his fierce golden glare. Even so, she knows she has to be strong, both for herself and for her son. Because if his own father won't protect him, then she certainly will. Even if the person she has to protect him from is that very father himself. "Get out," she whispers harshly. Her heart feels like it's on fire as she forcibly pushes him away from her, and the heat from that fire rises in her voice as well. "Get out of our home, out of our lives! You never wanted to be a part of this family anyway, so I'm giving you exactly what you've always wanted! I don't want to see you ever again, and I certainly don't want you around our son! So get out, and never come back!"
Surprisingly, he doesn't protest. Instead, he simply nods as he begins to pack up his things to leave her, this time for good. "Very well, whatever once existed between you and I is long over anyway," he says to her just shy of heading out the door. "But mark my words, Thalassa, you can't keep Tsuki away from me-and from the path he's destined to take-forever."
She says nothing as he finally walks out, closing the door behind him. It's only after he's gone, out of her life once and for all, that she whispers her last bitter, scornful words toward the man she'd once loved so much. "I can sure as hell try."
Tsuki doesn't see his father for seven years. His mother never speaks of him, rejects any and all questions he might try to ask. But as the years go by, his curiosity only grows as his memories of father start to grow hazy. As he remembers less and less where the scar on the back of his left hand came from. As he holds onto the few and far between moments of happiness he'd once had with his mysterious father.
When his father does return, time has clearly taken its toll. The man who comes to see him when he's the last to leave the play island one day is old, his hair graying and his wrinkles emerging. But Tsuki knows him as soon as he sees him, and without much thought at all, rushes to embrace him. His father greets him with a kindly smile, affectionately ruffles his hair, makes pleased remarks over how much he's grown. Tsuki is 12 now, fit and agile with a love for the sea and a true talent for fishing. But his father rejects his offer for a day out on his boat together. Instead, he stands apace from him, a dark, almost familiar weapon flashing into his outstretched hands.
"W-what is that?" Tsuki asks with wide, curious eyes.
"This, my boy, is a Keyblade," his father explains, still smiling softly. "A special weapon that is tightly bound to the heart of its wielder. I've trained many years to become a master over its power, and in the process, I have seen many worlds."
"There are other worlds…?" Tsuki asks, fascinated as he stares up at his father in awe.
"Indeed," his father's smile widens. "Perhaps when you are older, you'll have the chance to see them for yourself, just as I have. But until then, there is something I'd like to give you. Two things, actually."
He beckons the boy to come closer, taking his hand and placing it against the hilt of his shadowy weapon. "In your hand, take this key," he releases his own hold upon the blade. Tsuki can barely handle its heavy weight on its own, but he tries his best, not wanting to accidentally damage it. "So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking… its wielder you shall someday be." Tsuki doesn't quite understand what his father is reciting to him, but he listens carefully all the same, takes in every word as he holds onto his Keyblade tightly, like it's the most important thing in all the world. And if it belongs to his father, then maybe it just might be. "And you will find me, friend-no ocean will contain you then. No borders around, below, or above… so long as you champion the ones you love…"
His last words come out almost bitter, but Tsuki doesn't notice as his father carefully takes his Keyblade back. "What was all that about?" the boy asks, aptly confused.
"That was a bequeathing ceremony, child," his father says as his weapon disappears. "It means that I have marked you as my rightful successor, the heir to both my Keyblade and my legacy. It is a great honor, Tsuki, not one to be taken lightly. It is my hope that when the time comes for you to take on the mantle of our family's heritage, our very destiny, you will not disappoint me."
Tsuki immediately shakes his head, unable to bear the thought of shaming his own father somehow. "I-I won't," he assures, nodding his head in respect. "I promise, Father, I won't let you down."
"I'll be sure to hold you to that promise..." his father's smile fades somewhat at this. He turns to leave, a shadowy portal forming in the sands behind him. "I must be on my way for now. But… before I go, one final gift for you, Tsuki. Consider it an heirloom of sorts, one I claimed during my many travels as a symbol of my… success." He pulls something out of his pocket and presses it into his son's hands. "Be sure to take exceptional care of it, my son. Oh, and as far as your dear mother is concerned, this meeting never happened."
Tsuki watches as his father leaves, his own nerves stopping him from going to hug him once more. Still, after his father disappears, he looks down at the gift he'd left him, holding it up so he can see it glisten in the sunlight:
A chain-bound necklace holding the charm of a pure, silver crown.
Tsuki's father starts visiting him regularly after that, with his appearances being only months apart instead of years. His father always urges him not to tell his mother of their encounters, and Tsuki heeds him well, lest his father make good on his threat to never come to see him again if he doesn't. Their meetings take place in private upon the play island, and each of them takes Tsuki by surprise. Not much of their time is spent talking, though what discussions they do have are filled with his father recounting old, bizarre legends that come from far beyond their world. Stories of other Keyblade wielders, of a cataclysmic war between darkness and light, of the ultimate Key and the unspeakable power it is forged to uncover, something his father only refers to as "Kingdom Hearts". Even by the time he's 14, Tsuki can't make much sense out of any of it, but he eagerly listens to his father's grand tales all the same, wondering if it all really happened and what it could all really mean.
Then one day, his father asks him to summon a Keyblade.
To Tsuki's credit, he tries, he tries the best he can to call upon that weapon his father can summon with such ease. But no attempt ever turns out any true results at all. His father corrects his posture, fixes his stance, commands him to focus, but no amount of focus proves to ever be enough to make it happen. Yet still, every time his father comes to visit, he forces him to make the same futile attempt. And every time, instead of responding with patience and encouragement, his father's frustration and condescension only continues to rise.
"You're not applying yourself, boy!" his father snaps at him after another failed effort. "You aren't focusing like I've told you to time and time again now!"
"I am focusing, Father!" Tsuki protests earnestly. "I've even been meditating in my free time like you told me to. I'm doing everything I can to call upon the Keyblade you want me to have, I just… can't for some reason…"
His father narrows his golden eyes at him, his expression sharpening into a cold, vicious glower. "Then perhaps the time for mere practice is over…"
Before Tsuki can even say another word, his father's Keyblade is in his hand. He bridges the gap between them in an instant, swinging his weapon out wide and fast. Fortunately, Tsuki is armed with the dull metal training sword most boys his age on the islands have. Even then, he still doesn't have enough time to properly block his father's unexpected blow. The strike knocks Tsuki across the sand as it strikes his chest painfully, and while it doesn't leave any mark, it still stings horribly when he hits the ground.
"F-Father…" he gasps for air that he suddenly can't seem to find as his father comes to stand over him, Keyblade still drawn. "What-"
"What a pity," his father sneers unsympathetically. "Even when you're under attack, your Keyblade still refuses to come to you. Perhaps I was wrong in choosing you as my heir after all…"
Tsuki pales at this, panicking as he abruptly forces himself to sit up despite the pain still pounding through his chest. "N-no! Father, please, just give me one more chance. I-I'll make you proud, I promise, I'll-"
"That's enough," his father puts up a stern hand to stop him. "I believe it's nearly time for me to move on. I will give you one final chance, as you asked of me, boy. The next time we meet, you will summon your Keyblade. Do not fail me again."
"Y-yes, Father," Tsuki obediently nods. He catches himself, however, when his father shoots him another hateful glare. "I-I mean… yes, sir," he mutters, hanging his head in shame.
And so his father leaves him again. Leaves him standing there, alone on the shore, wishing he wasn't such a failure. Wishing that he could finally prove to his father that he's actually worth his time and affection.
Wishing that the legacy his father wants to pass onto him isn't such an impossibly heavy burden to bear.
Tsuki is 16 when he meets the love of his life.
She's from one of the outer islands; he doesn't get to go out to them much, so meeting someone from them is always an interesting experience. It's her first time on the main island too, he can tell, from how curious and excited she is as he watches her disembark her family's boat. Her eyes are bright blue like his mother's, her long sandy hair tied up and her attire simple, yet pleasant. And even from afar, from the moment Tsuki lays eyes on her, he finds himself absolutely smitten.
"Hello," he greets when he catches her wandering the marketplace alone sometime later that day. "I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"
"Himari," she answers with a bright, lovely smile. "And yours?"
"Tsuki," he replies just as warmly. "So, um, Himari, I couldn't help but notice that you seem like you're a little lost around here. Do you need someone to show you around?"
She laughs, and it's perhaps the most beautiful sound he's ever heard in his life. "I'm not lost," she gives him a playful smirk as she hangs her arms behind her head. "But I couldn't help but notice that you look like you wanna play tour guide for a girl you just met."
He blushes, flustered. "Oh, w-well, I-"
"It's ok," she chuckles once more, linking her arm in his. "I'd love to have you as my official main island tour guide, Tsuki."
"G-great!" he grins, his cheeks still warm as he begins to lead her on. "Let's get going then."
And so he shows her around, though their conversation soon turns away from the island's landmarks and more to each other instead. Himari isn't only beautiful in her appearance, Tsuki quickly finds, she's beautiful in just about every other way too. She's smart and compassionate and funny and on top of all that, she's an incredible cook. He discovers that on their first official date, when she's the one to surprise him with perhaps the best meal he's ever eaten. He returns the favor next time around by taking her out on his fishing boat, duly impressing her by catching one of the most elusive shellfish the ocean has to offer, one that of course, Himari knows how to cook to perfection. They spend the next several months going back and forth between their islands, visiting each other just about every day as they fall more and more for each other each time they meet. As a result, their budding affections soon start to turn to something deeper, something more meaningful. Something that Tsuki knows is nothing less than pure love.
But then, he's all too quickly reminded of how fragile it all really is.
He hasn't seen his father in almost a year, nearly managed to forget about how awful their last encounter had been. Had largely left the notion of summoning his Keyblade behind once he met Himari. His mind had turned to other things, things he deemed far more important instead as time went on. But one day, as he's combing the beach of the play island to gather shells to surprise Himari with, he's met with another surprise visit from none other than his father.
"F-Father…" Tsuki greets him, his voice small and unsteady as he bows his head in respect, just as he always does.
"Tsuki, my son," his father says with a steady, collected smile. "I've come bearing exceptional news. I believe you are finally ready to take your proper place by my side, to be the one who will help all of the plans I've been pulling together for years now come to completion."
"Plans?" Tsuki shakes his head, confused. "Father, what are you-I-I still can't even summon my Keyblade yet-"
"We shall worry about that in time," his father counters quickly. "For now, it is time for you to finally see the worlds beyond for yourself. Perhaps once you're finally free from the confines of this miserable island, then you will at long last be able to reach your true potential."
"Wait… you want me… to leave with you?"
"But of course," his father nods. "That was always the inevitable goal with our little 'practice' sessions. For you to learn to use your Keyblade so that you might be able to use its power to traverse the worlds freely, just as I have before you."
"B-but… I can't leave," Tsuki says incredulously. "I don't want to leave. What about Mom? I-"
"Your mother never understood the great purpose that awaits you, child," his father remarks dismissively. "But I always have. From the very day you were born, from the first time I laid eyes upon you, I knew. You're like me-destined for something far greater than any life we might know here."
"But… but I just met this girl a few months ago," Tsuki admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "Her name is Himari-she's really sweet and fun. I… I really like her. I might even love her. I-I've even been thinking about… about asking her to marry me, when we're a little older…"
"A girl?" his father scoffs icily. "You would deny everything that fate has in store for you, everything I want to give you, just because of your own tawdry, insignificant feelings for some simple girl?"
"How I feel about Himari isn't insignificant," Tsuki insists firmly. For a moment, he forgets who he's speaking to here, refuses to back down, even to his father. Not as long as he's deciding to finally let his own heart lead him down the path he wants to go down for a change. "Didn't you ever feel the same about Mom?"
"However I might have once felt about your mother isn't pertinent to this conversation, boy," his father scowls, his expression darkening. "What's important is that you do as I say. You will come with me away from this world and you will learn to call upon your Keyblade and you will stop being a pathetic disgrace for once in your pathetic life! Is that clear?"
Tsuki flinches, terrified as his father towers over him, an aura of visible darkness seeming to surround him. He briefly fears that his father might lash out, might strike him once more, might do something even worse than that. And yet, in that same moment he thinks about Himari, about her warm smile, as bright as the sun itself. About how happy and full his heart feels whenever he's with her. About how much he loves her, how much he wants to be with her. And at that moment, he decides he's not going to let anyone, even his own father, take that away from him. "No."
"No?" his father repeats, his golden glare deepening. "You dare disrespect your own father, boy?"
"You've never been much of a father to me," Tsuki counters sternly, finally deciding to tell his father the long-kept truth. "You left Mom when I was five. And you've only ever come around since to try and make me more like you. You may not realize this, Father-no, Xehanort-but I am not you!"
"No, clearly you're not," his father hisses severely. "Because if you were anything like me, you would have been able to take up your Keyblade years ago. You would have strived for something greater instead of settling for the mediocrity you'll always be forced to wallow in here."
"Maybe I don't want to use a Keyblade!" Tsuki snaps fiercely, far too incensed to stop now. "Maybe I don't want to leave home! What if I want to stay here, with Himari, so I can have a family of my own? So maybe I can have a son and show him all the love you never bothered giving me?"
"Then your very existence will become nothing more than a waste in the grand scheme of things," his father condemns haughtily. "If you choose to deny the grand heritage that awaits you here and now, then mark my words, boy, I will find someone else to take your place in my plans."
"Go ahead and do it then," Tsuki swiftly turns away from him. "Because I'm done. With you and with everything you wanted for my life. You're not the one in charge of my destiny, Xehanort. I am."
He doesn't turn back to his father as he hears another one of his dark corridors opening up, a sure sign that he's set to finally take his leave. To leave him behind, once and for all. And perhaps, Tsuki thinks as he lets the burden his father placed upon his shoulders finally fall, that's a good thing. "I swear to you, boy, you will live to regret this decision," is all his father says before he disappears.
Tsuki doesn't know how long he stands there, alone on that shore. For a moment, he feels the weight of the necklace his father had given him years ago around his neck, its metal crown cold as it lays against his collarbone. Tears build in his eyes as he rips the charm off his neck and prepares to toss it to the depths of the sea.
But then he stops and slowly puts it back around his neck. The final remnant of the relationship he'd always wanted to have with his father. A relationship he knows, no matter what he might have done or how hard he might have worked, he'll never get to see.
Thalassa dies before she gets to see her son get married. She falls victim to a deadly plague that spreads around the islands one winter, one that takes her life only a few weeks after she catches it. Tsuki mourns her for what feels like ages, but all the while, Himari stays close by his side, consoling and comforting him every step of the way. Which is why, on one early spring day, he finally gets down on one knee and asks her to marry him. She answers with a resounding, wholehearted, immediate yes.
Their wedding is simple yet pleasant, held on a warm midsummer day on the shore of the play island. Himari is a vision of beauty in her flowing white gown, her smile bright and adoring as she approaches him at the altar. They exchange vows, rings, and paopu fruits, as is the island's custom, and before they know it, they're happily wed. The celebration goes on well into the evening, their friends and family in full attendance. Or at the very least, Himari's family is. When asked about his father's whereabouts, Tsuki simply shrugs, pretending like he simply doesn't know where he is and doesn't care.
Oh, how much he wishes he actually meant that.
And yet, he's in the middle of another dance with his new wife when he spots him, standing on the far outskirts of the surrounding crowd. Tsuki hasn't heard from him since what he thought would be their final fateful meeting and he can't even begin to understand why his father might be here now, at his wedding of all times. As Himari gets to chatting with some of their other friends, Tsuki carefully excuses himself, determined to get some answers.
He finds his father standing alone on the far side of the island, his hands behind his back as he stares out at the sea. He's fully gone bald by now, and by all accounts looks older than he really is. Tsuki can't help but wonder if spending so long steeped in shadows might have pulled his father's youth away from him somehow.
"What are you doing here?" he asks sharply as he approaches him.
"Come now, boy, you really think I'd miss my own son's wedding?" he asks, glancing back over his shoulder with a small, smug grin.
"You weren't invited," Tsuki counters rigidly.
"I assumed that was simply because you couldn't figure out where to send the invitation," his father scowls when he turns to him. "Look at what you've been reduced to. A 'proud' husband, a 'humble' family man. If you had decided to come with me, you could have become someone who actually mattered."
"If I had gone with you, I would have given up everything I care about here," Tsuki shakes his head, his hardened expression unmoved. "I'm proud of my choice. I've accepted it-it's about time you do too, Fa-Xehanort."
As far as Tsuki is concerned, this conversation is over. He turns to head back to the party, though he freezes stiff upon hearing what his father says next. "I would very much like to meet that lovely bride of yours. Given how highly you spoke of her the last time we met, I imagine she's quite the catch…"
"N-no," Tsuki glances back at him, forcing his unsteady nerve to stay calm. "I… I don't think you should."
"Why is that, son?"
"B-because, I-" Tsuki stops himself short, reminding himself that he has no reason to fear what his father might do to him. What his father might do to his wifeon the other hand… "Because there's no reason for you to be here in the first place. I thought we made it very clear that we both want nothing to do with each other. So let's just agree to leave it at that, once and for all."
He doesn't even give his father a chance to answer before he turns on his heel and heads back to the party.
Himari groans, pressing her pillow against her ears as the telltale cry rings throughout the room. "It's your turn, Ki," she mutters, nudging her sleeping husband with her foot. Tsuki nods, groggily yet dutifully sitting up, slipping his slippers on, and heading over to the crib on the far side of the room.
"Hey there, kiddo," he shushes his sobbing son as he gently lifts him into his arms, blanket and all. "What's got you in such a fuss, huh?"
The baby's loud cries quiet down into a whimper at this, but even his father gently rocking him in his arms isn't enough to settle him completely. Fortunately, even after just two weeks, Tsuki has already figured out exactly what does the trick to get his restless son back to sleep. "Why don't you and I get a bit of fresh air, ok?" he whispers, wrapping the blanket around the baby just a bit tighter. "We'll let Mommy get back to sleep while we're at it."
For her part, Himari is already snoozing as Tsuki takes their baby out of the room and out onto the back porch. The summer air is warm and crisp as he takes a seat, the baby still in his arms as he sings a soft, peaceful lullaby from his own youth. One that he only vaguely remembers being sung to him, but still knows the lyrics to perfectly.
"The sun, the moon, the stars, are why-"
"We always look up to the sky-"
"Gaze up there and you will see-"
"An endless chain of memory."
"Drop the distance into dreams-"
"A birth by sleep, a flowing stream-"
"Of time, unwinds in dark, in light-"
"The days go by as hearts take flight."
He pauses briefly as his song soothes his son into sleep, but he smiles as he finishes the melody off all the same.
"And you… precious child, bear your legacy…"
"And you… precious child, hold the key… to your destiny…"
"Dearly beloved, look to the endless sky-"
"Dearly beloved, there your heart will fly…"
"The sun, the moon, the stars, are why-"
"We always look up to the sky-"
"Gaze up there and you will see-"
"The path that's always meant to be…"
Tsuki stops, taking in a gasp as a newfound voice suddenly, inharmoniously joins his own in the lullaby's final line. He stands, startling his son awake in the process, though fortunately he doesn't cry. Even as Tsuki turns to face the shadowed figure approaching from the shore beside their house.
"Even after all these years," his father grins him in greeting as he steps up onto the porch. "You still remember the lullaby I used to sing to you when you were little…"
Tsuki flinches, trying to wipe whatever memories he has of that happening out of his head, lest he sour such a beautiful melody with such bittersweet thoughts. "M-Mom would sing it to me too, more than you ever did."
"Who do you think taught her that song, my boy?" his father asks before turning his gaze at the baby in Tsuki's arms. "And now it seems as though you have a child of your own to sing it to. How… charming."
Suddenly, his father catches him off guard by extending his hands out toward the baby. Tsuki pulls his son a bit closer to him, pulling back from his father almost protectively. The action isn't lost on him. "Really, boy? You would deny me the right to meet my first and only grandson? And you believe me to be the one who's cold and uncaring…"
Tsuki wavers at this, glancing between his son and his father with rising conflict. Eventually, he does fold, however, carefully placing the baby in his father's arms. After all, what could the harm in just letting him hold his son really be?
His father is silent for a moment as he looks the baby over, not even seeming to care as the child begins whimpering in his hold. "Noisy little thing, isn't he?" he remarks condescendingly. "You'll want to break him of that loathsome habit as quickly as you can."
"He's just a baby," Tsuki counters crossly. "Babies cry. I don't need any of your parental advice, by the way. Himari and I are handling him just fine on our own."
"Clearly," his father rolls his eyes before settling his sights back on the baby. "Did you give this spawn of yours a suitable name, at the very least?"
Tsuki lets out a deep breath at this, trying to keep his rising frustration in check. "Sora," he replies simply, curtly. "His name is Sora."
His father finally smiles upon hearing this. "I see…" he says simply, ominously. Immediately after, however, Sora finally begins crying in full, clearly discontent about being in this strange man's arms for so long. Tsuki wastes no time taking him away from his father so he can calm him.
"Shh, it's ok, Sora," he rocks the baby gently, holding him close. "Daddy's got you; I'm right here for you." Once he's properly quieted Sora down, Tsuki turns to fix his father with a stern glare. "Did you really come all this way just so you could make my son cry in the middle of the night?"
"Believe it or not, boy, my world does not revolve around you and your meaningless affairs," his father remarks, still keeping his focus on Sora instead of Tsuki even as he speaks. "I was here on… other business, and decided to simply stop by so I could meet your 'darling' child. And now that I have, I'll be on my way."
"Good," Tsuki huffs, turning to head back inside. "Oh, and next time you're in the neighborhood, don't bother dropping in to see us."
His father says nothing as he takes Sora inside, shutting the door and locking it tightly behind them both. He doesn't see his father lingering just outside, a cunning grin on his face as he realizes his long laid schemes are finally starting to come together after all. "Sora…" he repeats, glancing back at the house behind him. He offers his newborn grandson a refrain of his ancient lullaby, not in song, but simply spoken, its words taking an all new meaning as he realizes that mere, innocent baby on the other side of the door is exactly the one he's been looking for all this time.
"And you… precious child, bear your legacy…"
"And you… precious child, hold the key… to your destiny…"
"And then I told Riku all 'bout that huuuuuuuge fish you caught, but he didn't believe me when I said it was this big!" Sora holds his arms out as wide as he possibly can. Tsuki can't help but laugh at the disgruntled pout his son wears to go along with it.
"Well, I don't know if it was that big, kiddo," he playfully ruffles the 3 year old's hair. "But it sure was nothing to sneeze at."
"...Why would ya sneeze at a fish?" Sora asks, scrunching his face up in confusion. "You'll give it a cold!"
Tsuki lets out another hearty chuckle at this, scooping his son up to sit on his shoulders. "Good to see you're developing your mom's sense of humor. You can split my sides every bit as much as she can."
"I don't wanna split your sides, Daddy!" Sora protests, tightly hugging his father's neck. "That sounds like it would hurt!"
"No, Sora, that's just a-" Tsuki shakes his head, chuckling. "Never mind. We better hurry home, kiddo; we don't wanna miss out on whatever yummy food your mom is cooking up for dinner."
"I hope she made cake for dinner!" Sora excitedly proclaims. "And cookies for dessert!"
"Heh, maybe if we're lucky she'll have ice cream as an appetizer too," Tsuki jokes as he begins to walk up the beach. He doesn't get very far, however, before an all too familiar voice reaches him from the shore.
"What a touching display… It seems almost… familiar. Wouldn't you agree, Tsuki?"
Tsuki stops dead in his tracks, a telltale burst of fear spiking through him as he glances back at his father. He's still a good way down the other side of the shore, but even that distance is far too close for Tsuki's comfort. Especially since Sora is still sitting on his shoulders.
He wastes no time setting his son down on the sand beside him. Sora is usually friendly to a fault, even with perfect strangers. But while he'd normally rush forward to cheerfully greet anyone and everyone he meets, he makes no move to rush up to the strange elderly man making his way towards him and his father now. He clings onto Tsuki's leg, half hiding behind it as he watches this unsettling stranger-whose golden gaze seems to be fixated almost completely on him-with wide, worried eyes.
"Why do you keep coming back into my life?" Tsuki asks with a severity in his voice that Sora isn't used to hearing. "How many times do I have to turn you away!?"
His father largely ignores him. Instead, he keeps staring at Sora, a calm, almost inviting smile on his voice as he addresses the boy cordially. "Hello there, young one," he says gently, kindly even. "I see you've grown in leaps and bounds since the last time we met. You wouldn't happen to remember me, would you, Sora?"
Sora shakes his head, still saying silent as he presses even closer to her father for protection. The boy's never been scared of any stranger before, has always viewed them as friends he just hasn't met yet. But something about the aura this odd old man carries practically screams danger, that if this man steps any closer to Sora or his father, he might just harm them both.
"Don't speak to my son," Tsuki orders rigidly.
"Impetuous as ever, child," the old man scowls, finally regarding Tsuki dryly. "I didn't come here to entertain you; I came because I would like to spend some… quality time with your dear boy here…"
Tsuki tenses up as he glances down at Sora. The boy looks up at him with wide, wondering eyes, as if he's afraid his father will force him to go with this unsettling stranger. Fortunately, Tsuki does anything but. "No," he says firmly, fixing the old man with a steady glare. "Sora, head on home to Mommy; Daddy will catch up with you in just a minute, ok?"
Sora readily complies, racing for the house as quickly as he can. Along the way he only catches fleeting snippets of the tense conversation that follows between his dad and that old stranger. Words like "leave", "potential", "time", and "grandson", none of which make any sense when strung together. Sora only glances back once, long enough to see his father angrily shout a loud and clear "go away!" at the old man, before he reaches the house, and swiftly closes the door.
"Oh, Sora! You're just in time for dinner, dear," Himari smiles as her son rushes into the kitchen. She's caught off guard when he hugs her legs tightly, burying his face into his skirt while he trembles softly. "Whoa, Sora, sweetie," she kneels down to his level to see the tears just starting to well up in her son's eyes. "What's wrong? Where's your father?"
"H-he was yelling at this old man on the beach," Sora sniffles, his face taunt with fear. "He was really scary, Mommy; Daddy got really mad at him-I don't know why."
"Old man…?" Himari raises a confused eyebrow as she stands. "Who could-"
She stops short as Tsuki enters the room, his face hot and his hands in tight fists at his side. He quickly eases up upon meeting his wife's concerned gaze and his son's anxious pout. "Tsuki," Himari begins, walking up to him. "What's going on? Sora was telling me about you arguing with some… old man on the beach…?"
Tsuki pauses, bites his lip, then sighs. "I-I don't know what you mean, honey," he says, putting on a fake, reassuring smile. "We didn't see anyone on our way home. Sora, kiddo, you must have just been imagining things again."
"B-but I saw-"
"We didn't see anyone," Tsuki insists, his tone a bit firmer. It's enough to silence Sora completely as he looks down, rubbing his arm. Even though he knows his father is lying, something he told him to never, ever do. "Boy, am I hungry!" Tsuki perks up a moment later. "What's for dinner, dear?"
"Glad you asked," Himari chuckles as if nothing's wrong. But something is wrong, Sora knows. Why can't she see that too? "I made smoked salmon, our favorite. Let me finish setting the table so we can eat up before they swim away."
"Sounds great," Tsuki smiles, though he stays put when she walks away. As soon as she's out of the room, Sora doesn't hesitate to pose the question that's weighing heavy on his mind.
"Daddy, why did you just lie to Mommy?" he asks, crossing his arms. "You said lying is bad."
"It is bad, kiddo," Tsuki nods as he lowers himself down to one knee to place a hand on his young son's shoulder. "But I need you to listen to me really quick, ok? You know that old man we just met on the beach?"
"Y-yeah," Sora nods fretfully. "I-I didn't like him-I told Mommy he was scary, like a loud thunderstorm!"
"You're not wrong about that…" Tsuki mutters disdainfully. "Sora, why don't we just forget we ever saw that old man, ok? You don't have to think about him again-I promise you that you won't ever see him again. And we won't tell Mommy about him. It'll be our little secret, ok?"
"Ok," Sora nods earnestly. He usually likes secrets, keeps plenty of innocent, childish ones with his best friend Riku. But this is a secret he really doesn't like, one he doesn't want to think about, just like his father said. A secret that really is just better off left forgotten.
"That's my boy," Tsuki ruffles his hair again, picking him up so he can carry him off to the dining room. "Now, let's eat!"
By the time he goes to bed that night, Sora's all but forgotten about the secret his father asked him to keep. He's stopped thinking about the old man and how scared he'd been because of him. He lets his parents tuck him in as he usually does, his father singing his special lullaby to help him fall asleep. He only awakens once that night by chance, and in his bleary, drowsy vision, he briefly sees the shadow of what almost seems to be a man standing right outside his window, watching him as he slumbers. But when he clears the sleep out of his eyes and looks again, that shadow is completely gone.
He must have been seeing things, he thinks with little consequence as he falls back into bed and goes right back to sleep.
The last time Tsuki sees his father also happens to be the last day of his life.
It was supposed to be a simple fishing trip, one lap around the islands to catch a good batch to sell for a decent price at the market. Sora's birthday is coming up and Tsuki wants to surprise him with something truly special. He'd been sick last year when his son had turned 8, and as a result, had come up short-handed for any sort of suitable present. He offered him the only thing he could really think of, a gift that he felt guilty for even as he gave it: the crown necklace his father had once given him. Unaware of the negative connotations behind it, Sora had happily accepted this present and had taken to wearing it proudly every single day. Tsuki tries his best to avoid looking directly at it, when at all possible.
With the weather as fair as it's been lately, Tsuki opts to go out on the sea alone, despite Riku's father's offering to join him. Sure enough, the trip starts off well; he even lands a sizable catch that's more than enough to make a pretty penny off of. Satisfied, Tsuki prepares to turn his vessel around to head home. Until…
"Still wasting whatever potential you might have once had on fishing, of all things, I see…"
Tsuki starts, swiftly spinning around to see a man he's never seen before standing on the deck of the boat behind him. He's on the younger side, clad in a pitch black coat, with silver hair and conspicuously golden eyes that immediately ring familiar in a way that strikes fear into Tsuki's heart. "W-who's there?" he asks, gripping the harpoon he always keeps on hand while fishing. "Who are you? How did you get on my boat?"
"Really, Tsuki?" the man asks, taking a step forward. "It hurts that you don't even recognize your own father…"
"W-what?" Tsuki gasps, his eyes wide with alarm. But even so, he sees it; in the shade of unmistakable yellow in this man's eyes that are exactly the same as his father's own. "Fath-Xehanort?! But… why do you look like that?"
"In part, because of you, my boy," his father says, his expression cold as he continues walking toward him. "After you rejected your chance to carry on my ambitions years ago, I had no choice but to look for other avenues to achieve that which I desire. One of those avenues involved replacing my once brittle old body, with a younger, much more sturdy vessel instead. And to think, the feckless youth I stole this body from could have been spared… if only you had decided to stand by my side instead, Tsuki."
"Y-you… stole someone's body?!" Tsuki asks, alarmed, horrified by such a despicable thought. "And now you're just using it as if it were your own?! I knew you were capable of horrible things, but this… this is-"
"It is what needed to be done for me to get what I want," his father concludes callously. "And what I want is nothing less than the key to all existence, the essence of all worlds, Kingdom Hearts itself!"
"K-Kingdom Hearts…" Tsuki shakes his head incredulously. "But… you always made it sound like it was just a myth. I-it's not real, it couldn't be-"
"It is very real, boy," his father corrects. "I nearly succeeded in calling upon its power not long after the last time we met. But in my attempt to claim that kingdom, I was… shortsighted. I failed to realize that what I require to truly make Kingdom Hearts my own lies not the vessels I may conquer or the hearts I may subdue. No… what will help me forge the final Key to the Kingdom… is a trait that lies solely in our bloodline alone…"
If Tsuki hadn't been feeling sick by everything his father is saying, he certainly does now as he grips his harpoon tighter. "S-so that's why you keep coming back," he says sharply. "Even after all this time, you still want me to follow in your footsteps, you still want me to be every bit as awful as you are! Well, I've told you before, and I'm telling you again, for the last time. Whatever it is your planning, I want no parts of any of it!"
His father says nothing to this, even as Tsuki points the tip of his harpoon directly at him. Instead, he merely pushes it lightly aside with his gloved hand, smiling as he speaks again. "Always so presumptuous, just like your mother was before you…" he says coolly. "Still, Tsuki, whoever said I was talking about you?"
Tsuki pales, his eyes wide and his heart suddenly racing as he remembers that night years ago. "I came because I would like to spend some… quality time with your dear boy here," his father had said, and suddenly Tsuki is more glad that he'd never allowed that to happen than he is right now. Because in doing so, he very well may have saved his son from a fate far more horrible than he could ever imagine. "N-no," he chokes, his voice much weaker than he would like it to be. "No, I already told you. Stay away from Sora! He's just a child-"
"A child with far more promise than you ever had, Tsuki," his father says scornfully. "From the very first moment I laid eyes on your son, I could see that he's everything you never were. His heart is more than strong enough to wield a Keyblade, perhaps without even needing to be bequeathed one like you were. He possesses a unique ability to connect to the hearts of others on the deepest of levels, unlike any I've ever seen before. And… he carries a certain… quality I've been looking for, one that I've never seen anywhere else in all my years and in all the worlds I've wandered to. That quality, your son-Sora-is the missing piece I require to bring my years of careful planning to fruition, to call upon Kingdom Hearts and claim it as it's king!"
At that moment, Tsuki doesn't even think, doesn't even have time to. Instead, he swings his harpoon straight at his father, hoping to put an end to his wicked plans for his son right here and now. His father easily catches the side of the weapon with his hand however, holding it in place as he offers Tsuki a disapproving glower. "It seems you still don't know the first thing about how to properly hold your own in a fight…" he says, his tone dry and bored.
"Shut up!" Tsuki snaps, infuriated. "Whatever you want Sora for, I will never let it happen. I don't want you involved in his life, just like I don't want you in mine! And I will do whatever I have to to protect him from you. As long as I'm alive, you won't touch my son, Xehanort, I'll make sure you never even come close!"
For what seems like ages, his father says nothing. He simply stands there, as if soaking his son's genuine, outraged threats in. After a moment or two, he closes his eyes, and lets out a long, almost pensive sigh. "I see," he says shortly, simply. "Then you leave me no choice."
Before Tsuki can say another word, before he can even draw in another breath, it happens. His father bridges the gap between them in a flash. And in the seconds that follow, Tsuki feels a horrible, unbearable pain piercing his chest all the way through. He gapes, staring into his father's golden eyes for a moment…
Before he looks down and sees the Keyblade running him clean through the heart.
"W-what… why….?" Tsuki chokes, his eyes growing wet with tears. By now blood is already trickling from the massive wound, and yet his father doesn't remove his blade. Instead, he places his free hand against his back, as if to hold him upright and steady as he moves to lean in to whisper to him.
"I refuse to let anyone get in the way of what I desire…" he says, not a single hint of remorse in his voice. "Not even you, my son."
"N-no…" Tsuki sobs, his vision growing more bleary and dim by the second. "Y-you can't… p-please, X-Xehanort, Father, please… don't hurt my son… d-don't hurt Sora…"
"I'll tell you exactly what I intend to do with Sora," his father says, his voice still soft and gentle. If Tsuki didn't know any better, if his father wasn't the one who had dealt this fatal wound to begin with and wasn't outright threatening his son's life, he'd almost find it strangely soothing. "I will allow him a few more peaceful years on this waste of a world. But when the time comes and the boy is ready to undertake his destiny, then I will not make the same mistakes I made with you, my son. I will not give him the option of saying no to me like you did. Even if I must force the boy to become my successor, then I will gladly do so. I will take every step, every measure to turn him into exactly what I want him to be. And in the process, he'll make me far prouder than you could have ever hoped to."
"H-he won't… go with you willingly…" Tsuki coughs and blood comes out. He finds some small sense of satisfaction when it stains his father's pristine black coat crimson. "S-Sora… wants nothing to do with you…. T-that night you showed up… h-he was terrified of you…"
"As he should be," his father smirks, as if that's an accomplishment. "That means he already respects me far more than you ever did. But if your boy steps out of line, Tsuki, if he ever tries to chase after the garish light instead of the strength of the shadows… then know this: I will make him sure he goes through every bit of suffering I should have put you through when you were his age. I will make him bleed, and make him break until only an obedient vessel for a piece of my heart remains. The thirteenth vessel to be exact, by far the most important one of them all."
"I-I already told you…" Tsuki's voice barely rises to more than a horse whisper. He struggles to keep his eyes open, to stay alive, to save his son from such a horrendous fate. But as it stands, he can't even save himself. "I… I won't let that happen…"
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, child." With that, his father finally slips his Keyblade out of his chest. Tsuki collapses to the deck in a pool of his own blood, his senses dimming all the while as he mutters both his wife and son's names alike. He can barely make out the vague image of his father as he leans down, places a ginger hand against his face, and sings his lullaby to him one last time.
"Dearly beloved, look to the endless sky-"
"Dearly beloved, there your heart will fly…"
"The sun, the moon, the stars, are why-"
"We always look up to the sky-"
"Gaze up there and you will see-"
"The path that's always meant to be…"
Xehanort makes it look like an accident. He calls upon an incredible storm that strikes the islands for days. Tsuki's boat goes down within minutes though, his son's body still on it as they're both lost to the sea. He observes from a distance, just like he so often does, as his daughter-in-law and his grandson are informed of Tsuki's tragic passing. He watches from a window, as his grandson falls into grief for perhaps the first time in his young life. He watches the boy cry for hours, refusing to be consoled by his mother or his friends alike. He watches the child mourn his beloved father, taken from him far too soon… and as he does, Xehanort only thinks about how he can use this. How he can use his grandson's grief, his newfound fear of losing those he most loves against him someday.
After all, what better way to drag a child into darkness than through their worst fears?
He makes his strike a few years later, once a few of his other schemes have properly gotten off the ground. Darkness engulfs the islands, and his grandson is one of the few to survive the onslaught. And when it all happens, he's pleased, proud to see a Keyblade flash into the boy's hands. A feat that even his own son could never accomplish, proof that this child has already begun down the path he's laid out for him perfectly.
Of course, the Keyblade he wields isn't truly his own. It was meant to belong to his friend, another boy who had been bequeathed by one of Eraqus' students, the very same student Xehanot had stolen the body of years before. But when the islands fall, the Keyblade finds that boy unfit to possess it when he accepts the call of darkness tugging at his heart. His own Heartless decides to make good use of it, to use this boy for the time being, even though he keeps a close eye on his grandson all the while. The child is attracted to the light, naturally, attracted to both a girl with a heart filled with it, and his friend caught up in the throes of darkness. What an odd trio they make: a Princess of Heart, a pawn of the shadows, and the heir to the throne of a kingdom still yet to come. Their bond is nigh inseparable, and it only grows stronger the more it is tested. Still, he knows that if he ever hopes to bring his grandson to his side, he'll have to shatter it completely someday.
His other vessels begin to play their parts, some to a more loyal extent than others. None of them can truly be trusted, however, outside of his Heartless and his Nobody. And of course, none other than his own grandson, who's been duped into fighting for the cause of the light. He doesn't care much for his grandson's Nobody, or even for the puppet made from his memories, even when they're both obliviously on his side. As far as he's concerned, they're both only merely meager substitutions for the real thing. The boy slumbers a year, and when he awakens, he takes the Organization out with ease. Even his own Nobody falls, a fortuitous turn of events. For in defeating both his Heartless and his Nobody alike, his grandson unwittingly opens the door for his true return. He opens the door to his own fall into darkness.
He convenes with his younger self, arrived from the past, from a time before Tsuki was born, when Thalassa was still so foolishly pining after him. He offers a word of advice to his younger counterpart, instructing him to take his failure of a future son out of the picture even sooner if he wants to succeed. Still, for now, they prepare and plan and set a trap for the boy to impart him with a piece of his own heart. "To gift him with his birthright," Xehanort once tells his younger self, "Whether he wants to accept it or not."
His plan ends up succeeding, though the lights are foolishly led to believe it fails. Xehanort lets them think whatever they want for the time being; by the time they figure out the truth, it'll be far too late for any of them to stop it. He continues observing his grandson from a distance through his other vessels, watching and waiting in the wings as he ventures out into the world to look for the thirteen Keys. It doesn't take long for the boy to figure out what's happening to him; his shifting hair and eyes are proof enough, though he makes use of a glamor spell to temporarily hide it all away. The mere idea of such foolishness nearly infuriates Xehanort; it's a slight against their family resemblance, a resemblance his heart lingering within his thirteenth vessel has only now begun to awaken. But then, he realizes, remembers… Tsuki never told his son about their connection, never spoke of his grandfather to the boy even once. Sora doesn't know the truth, the master thinks, almost elated by the thought. Because if the boy is already struggling with doubt and guilt and self-hatred now, then such a revelation is bound to make all those things so much worse.
It's bound to bring the child even closer to his rightful place at his grandfather's side.
The boy eventually runs off on his own, and Xehanort takes the opportunity to spend the "quality time" with his grandson that Tsuki had once tried to deny him of. Amidst his grandson's fear and loneliness, he comes to him, encourages those feelings within him, tells him his friends will only hurt him, will want to lock him away if he dares return to them. He makes false promises that he'll be safe in his care, protected by his Organization. Sora doesn't believe him, looks at him with the same sort of hateful glare his father used to before him. But by the way his voice always wavers when he speaks, Xehanort can tell the boy's resistance is failing. That he's falling apart at the seems, that his heart is unraveling a little more each and every day. That soon enough, he'll belong completely to him.
The breaking point comes when all the Keys have been collected, when the first clash at the fated place begins. The guardians gather, as do the seekers. And so too comes Sora, even against his friends' wishes, just as Xehanort had expected him to. When he has the boy right where he wants him, he sends a horde of Heartless upon the lights, scattering their souls across the worlds and leaving only one among their number behind. Sora collapses brokenly to the ground, believing every last one of his closest friends to be dead and gone, including the two among them he loved the most. And, with every last bit of hope his grandson might have had finally obliterated, that's when the master makes his move.
He welcomes the boy into their number, his thirteenth, final vessel finally claimed. The resemblance between them is undeniable now; Sora may look more like his father in just about every way, but with his hair whitened and his eyes the same exact shade of gold as Xehanort's own, the master can easily see so much of himself in his grandson. Which is why he decides there's no use in putting it off any longer. Now that Sora is finally where he belongs, it's time he finally learns the truth, too. It's finally time to learn that he has far more in common with his new "master" than he could have ever thought possible.
When the master orders him to come to his study alone, Sora has no choice but to do as he says. Fear pervades his every step there just as much as grief does as he wonders what Xehanort must have in store for him this time. Whatever it is, it's no doubt yet another layer of torture to go on top of every awful thing that's already happened to him since any of this began. Not that he thinks any torture can be more unbearable than what happened at the Graveyard. Nothing Xehanort can do to him now can possibly be worse than ripping every last one of his friends out of his reach, tearing Riku and Kairi away from his side, wiping them all out, right in front of his eyes, all while he watched, powerless to stop it. Nothing could ever be worse than that...
Right?
The door is already open for him when he arrives. He takes in a deep breath when he enters the pristine white room, his footsteps echoing through the lofty hall the master calls his study. His movements aren't his own when he stops in front of the desk at the end of it. He bows his head low in forced respect as he greets the wicked man before him softly. "Master," his voice sounds empty, largely because the words come out of his mouth unbidden. "You wanted to see me?"
The master's back is turned to him, his hands held behind it as he stands and stares out the large window into the endless night surrounding the Castle That Never Was. He's silent for an almost painfully long time, but Sora isn't permitted to address him again. All he can do is stand there, his heart held entirely under the master's power, and wait for him to speak in his stead.
"Sora…" he finally speaks, strangely addressing him by name as opposed to 'my thirteenth', as he so often does. "It's been many years since I've stepped foot on the shores of the island we both once called home. But you were there just a few short days ago. Tell me, boy, how are they now?"
An answer is forced out of him, one that he doesn't really want to give with all of the bittersweet memories swirling inside his mind right now. "T-they're beautiful, just like always."
"Indeed, they are," Xehanort surprisingly agrees, turning to face him. "And your mother-what was her name again-Himari? How is she faring?"
Sora freezes, his eyes wide as he chokes on his next breath. He somehow finds it within him to break away from his master's control long enough to pose the most immediate question that hits him. "Y-you know my mother?"
"Not personally, no," the master steps out from behind his desk to approach him. "I never had the privilege of meeting her. But I heard many exceptional things about her once. So answer my question, child; how has she been?"
"She's fine," he says, though it's something of a thinly veiled lie. Because when his mother saw him last, just a few days ago before he fell into the Organization's clutches, she was anything but fine upon hearing what's happened to him.
"And your father?"
Sora swallows hard, hating this entire conversation, especially since he doesn't understand the point of it in the slightest. "M-my father died in a storm when I was eight," he reports glumly, glancing down.
"Did he?" Xehanort smiles as he walks past his thirteenth vessel. "How very sad… Still, I am rather curious… Did he ever speak much about his family before his… untimely passing?"
"...No?" Sora frowns, caught off guard by such a peculiar question. "All he ever told me was that his parents both died before I was born. He talked about his mom sometimes, b-but… he never really said much about his dad…"
"...I see," the master says simply as he comes to stand in front of the boy once more. He's quiet for another long moment, until he startles Sora by suddenly reaching out to snatch something hidden just underneath his new black coat. He lets out a choked gasp as he realizes what that something is: his silver crown necklace, the last remnant of what his life used to be before it crumbled all around him. He had been ordered to remove and discard any and all personal effects he had prior to his "initiation" into the Organization. But, in perhaps one final act of rebellion against his foes, he held onto the necklace, securely tucking it out of sight just underneath the collar of his uniform coat. Still, he should have figured even that small bit of disobedience wouldn't go unnoticed by his master's ever-watchful eye.
"Your father gave this to you, didn't he?" Xehanort asks, staring down at the silver crown in his palm.
"Y-yes," Sora nods as much as he's able to, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "P-please, Master, don't take it. I-it's all I have left to remember him by, please, I-"
"My boy, I wouldn't dream of taking this from you," Xehanort surprisingly agrees with a soft, almost caring smile. "After all, it's such a precious gift. Tell me, if you know, where did your father happen to get it from?"
"H-he… he never told me…" Sora shakes his head, suddenly mystified. His father had never seemed to care for the necklace that much, had shoved it away inside some drawer in their house until he gave it to him on his eighth birthday. While Sora had gladly accepted it, his father had seemed almost eager to be rid of it, almost as if he viewed it as some sort of bad omen or cursed trinket. Sora never quite understood why that was… not even now when his new master is strangely questioning him about its origins.
"No, of course he didn't," Xehanort says and Sora thinks he might sound almost disappointed. Why though, he has no idea. "Like you said, he never spoke much about his father, so I suppose he wouldn't have told you that's who he got that special charm from."
"He… he did?" Sora asks, his brow furrowed in confusion. "How… did you know that?"
Xehanort largely ignores this question, opting to pose one of his own instead. "Sora, have you ever wondered why you were able to summon a Keyblade?"
"I-I… it's because Riku's Keyblade passed over him and went to me instead-"
"That's why you have the specific Keyblade that you do," Xehanort corrects him, shaking his head. "I'm talking about why you're able to summon a Keyblade at all. By most accounts, that's impossible, unless someone is bequeathed one by a Keyblade master… or if someone in their family was before them, but that person never managed to call upon a Keyblade of their own…"
"What are you saying…?" Sora asks, largely lost in the shuffle of all this.
"What I'm saying, boy, is that your Keyblade is your inheritance," Xehanort says firmly, smiling calmly as he does. Proudly, almost. "You wield it in your father's place, because he was never strong enough to possess it on his own. His Keyblade is yours now, Sora; the Keyblade I bequeathed to him years ago belongs to you."
While this information is more than enough to stun Sora into silence, he still somehow manages to speak to it all the same. "I-I… I don't understand," he shakes his head, mystified. "Why would you try to give my father a Keyblade?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Xehanort counters coolly. "It's the same reason I gave him the very necklace you now wear. All I ever wanted, after all, was for my son to follow in my footsteps…"
Time seems to stop dead in its tracks as these words echo through the room. They toss and turn inside Sora's mind in the silence that follows, repeating themselves over and over again as he tries and fails to make sense of them. As he struggles to see any way out of the downright nightmarish implication his master just left him with. "W-what?" he speaks, his voice broken, barely above a whisper.
The master doesn't answer him directly. He spins a story for him instead. "In my younger days, I was once… close to a woman by the name of Thalassa," he turns away from his thirteenth vessel, facing the window instead. "We had our time together whenever I was around to visit my old home, and eventually, we brought a son into the world together. His name was Tsuki-"
"S-stop," Sora interrupts as a trembling sob escapes him. He knows his father's name, recognizes it instantly. And as such, he already knows where this story is going, and he doesn't want to hear the rest of it. Even so, his master keeps it going anyway, if only to torture him even more.
"Tsuki grew, but never quite possessed the potential I hoped he'd have, though not for a lack of trying on my end…" the master's voice is bitter as his twisted tale goes on. "Eventually, he met and married a young woman by the name of Himari-"
"Stop!" Sora begs, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. Tears stream down his cheeks as he finds it harder and harder to remain standing. What Xehanort says next is ultimately what finally sends him falling to his knees.
"And in time, Tsuki and Himari had a son," the master turns back around to face him, grinning viciously as he reveals the last bit of the truth. "And that son stands before me now, my thirteenth and final vessel, the heir to my legacy, just as you were always intended to be, Sora."
"Stop!" Sora practically screams, his voice echoing sharply through the room as he collapses weakly to the ground. Xehanort interrupts his ragged weeping by slipping a gentle finger under his chin, guiding his gaze up to meet his.
"Welcome home, my dearest grandson," the master forces him to stand, forces him to remain still as he locks him in a tight, familial embrace. "At long last, your true destiny, the very purpose you were born for, can finally unfold…"
All the while, Sora's left sobbing into his master's-into his grandfather's shoulder, hating this awful man, his horrific heritage, hating himself for being a part of such a twisted, tainted legacy. The very same darkness, the very same evil that flows through Xehanort's blood also flows through his own. With that in mind, it's no wonder that he's turned out the way that he is: a dark, deplorable shadow, never meant to be among the companionship of the lights, just like his grandfather before him. Xehanort is right; this is all he was ever destined to be, before he was ever even thought of: through his own flesh and blood, he was never meant to become anything more than an heir to a throne of the deepest, most despicable darkness there is.
And in his sorrow, his grandfather finds a way to dig the knife of this treacherous truth even deeper into his broken heart. As he solemnly recites the lullaby his father once sang to him out of love, now echoed back at him by his grandfather as merely a malicious mockery of the madness his life has become:
"The sun, the moon, the stars, are why-"
"We always look up to the sky-"
"Gaze up there and you will see-"
"An endless chain of memory."
"Drop the distance into dreams-"
"A birth by sleep, a flowing stream-"
"Of time, unwinds in dark, in light-"
"The days go by as hearts take flight."
"And you… precious child, bear your legacy…"
"And you… precious child, hold the key… to your destiny…"
"Dearly beloved, look to the endless sky-"
"Dearly beloved, there your heart will fly…"
"The sun, the moon, the stars, are why-"
"We always look up to the sky-"
"Gaze up there and you will see-"
"The path that's always meant to be…"
Ahhhhh please forgive me! I know its a bit of a wild idea, but my brain wouldn't shut the hell up until I made it happen! Anyway, the lullaby in this chapter is meant to be set to Dearly Beloved, of course, so if you wanna read along those lyrics along to it for the full effect, be my guest! Also please don't forget to let me know what you thought in the REVIEWS PLEASE! And also don't forget to follow and favorite for more Keys AU content down the line! I've got lots of fun ideas I'd love to tackle that might not make it into Keys itself, so if you're hungry for more of the story, this is the right place to be! And with all that said and done, until next time! :)