Quick note going forward, I renamed The Emperors New Groove World to something more fitting. Also changed it for the previous chapter.

I don't own To Love-Ru or Kingdom Hearts

The Plight of a Peasant

?

"Giving up already? *BRRTTZZZ* I thought you were stronger then that."

"*BRRTTZZZ* You almost had him, just try again!"

*BRRTTZZZ*

"Being a Keyblade Master is all I've dreamed about."

"Well your not the only one."

"I know. *BRRTTZZZ* all share the same dream."

Empire of The Sun - Jungle (Waterfall Shore)

Rito's eyes slowly opened as he awoke from that odd dream. The voices of a man and woman still echoing in his head, and the dream itself seemed to 'cut', if he could describe it. He couldn't even tell where that dream was taking place. Weird...

'What was that all about?'

The boy sat up, eyeing that the llama from before was at a shore, loudly gurgling a wash of water.

His eyes went wide and he stood up 'That's right! The waterfall!' It all came back to him; falling down that massive waterfall, being tied to a big tree trunk, the Jaguars-!

"Oh! You're awake!" Rito turned his body around to the voice and found the big peasant from before on the ground, rapidly turning a twig inside a log for a reason unknown to him. His green poncho and brown hat were draped over a nearby branch, drying off from being soaked and he was now in a white undershirt. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Um..." Rito shyly hesitated to respond, looking to the side. "Uh..."

The peasant gave a kind, soft smile "Don't worry, you can take it easy." he assured the boy.

"...Yes I'm fine." Rito spoke eventually "I'm glad to see you guys are okay."

"Yeah just be glad he didn't lock lips with you, buddy." The llama remarked before he went for another gurgle session.

The Peasant rolled his eyes "For the last time, it was not a kiss."

'Lock lips?...Kiss?'

As Rito thought over what he just heard, he continued to watch the big man rapidly twist the twig inside the log before the log was suddenly lit with a small warm flame. The boy's expression went from deep thought to bright intrigue but-

"Well, whatever you call it-" the talking llama walked up to them and spit his remaining wash right at the fire the Peasant just made. "It was disgusting!" Rito gave a sigh as he continued to talk "Now had you done what I ordered you to do in the first place, we could've been spared your little 'Kiss of life'" He watched as the man restarted his fire, only for the llama to shake off excess water from his body, putting out his fire in the process again. This time, Rito gave a frown.

"But now that you're here, you will take me back to the palace." the talking animal laid down on the floor and started to meticulously arrange some pebbles "I'll have Yzma change me back, and then I'll start construction on Kuzcotopia! Oh yeah!" he finished as he placed a twig with a leaf on top of his rocky diagram.

"...Kuzco-topia?"

The llama paused before getting up and giving Rito a look of disbelief "Wait, don't tell me you don't know who I am?"

"To be fair, it's kinda hard to tell now that you're a llama." Pacha made his very good point, as much as Kuzco didn't want to admit.

Rito shook his head "I wouldn't know who you are no matter what you looked like. I'm not exactly from around here." he smiled as he went on to introduce himself "My name is Rito."

"Well, I'm Pacha, the Village Leader and-"

"And I am the sovereign lord of this nation, the hippest cat in creation that is he, Kuzco! Emperor Kuzco!" The llama introduced himself with a rather hip and dramatic flair...which earned him nothing but seconds of silent stares from Rito "Hmm...Usually I have my theme song guy do that bit."

"...What's an Emperor?"

Kuzco paused, an even bigger moment of disbelief overcoming him "You really aren't from around here, huh?" he started to walk away, "Pacha...you handle this."

"Wha? Me?" Pacha was taken aback by the sudden task he was given.

"Yeah you!" Kuzco rudely insisted "I can't be bothered to teach him how things are SUPPOST to run around here!"

Pacha let out a small frustrated sigh and massaged his temples for a while.

"I'm sorry...I-" Rito began to apologize.

"No-no-no. It's not you." Pacha reassured "It's just...my own set of troubles..." he turned his body to Rito, giving him his full attention "Let's see..." he thought for a moment before he spoke "An Emperor is someone with great power that rules over an entire stretch of land and the people that live on that land."

"Great power?" Rito looked over to the distant llama with curiosity "Is he really that strong?"

"Oh no! I don't mean Physical Power. I mean more... 'power by their words'." Pacha tried explaining so Rito would understand.

"Like...you gotta follow what they say?"

"USUALLY, people do!" Kuzco loudly whined as he took Pacha's nearby poncho and started using it as a towel to dry himself.

Pacha scowled and ignored Kuzco in favor of talking to Rito. "But even if you do have that kind of power, it should be used in a responsible way. At least, that's what I believe..."

"Hmm..." Rito trailed off, taking in what Pacha had told him "So what's this 'Kuzcotopia' I heard about?"

"Oh, that. He wants to build a summer home on my village hilltop, that's Kuzcotopia." Pacha wasn't enthused in the slightest to talk about that "But If you ask me, I think we got off on the wrong foot here, Kuzco." the peasant re-started making his fire while including Kuzco into the conversation. "I just think if you really thought about it, you'd decide to build your home on a different hilltop."

"And why would I do that?" he asked in a disinterested tone before carelessly throwing the poncho behind himself and onto Pacha's fire, putting it out for the third time.

"Because..." Pacha calmed himself with a inhale "Deep down, I think you'll realize that you're forcing an entire village out of their homes just for you." he walked over to Kuzco, now giving the talking llama his full attention.

"...and that's...bad?"

"That sounds pretty bad to me." Rito commented on the matter. "Where will the other people live?"

"Yeah!" Pacha said with a laugh as he sat down on a nearby rock "I mean, nobody's that heartless."

Kuzco seemed to ponder on it for a few seconds...before giving a blunt look. "Now take me back."

"HUH?" Rito was rather baffled by this llama's selfish attitude.

"What?! Wai-Wait, how can you be this way?!" Pacha stood up, his patience wearing thin "All you care about is building your summer home and filling it with stuff for you!"

"Uh yeah. Doy. Me." Kuzco said as if he's truly the only one that matters. "Everyone else in the Kingdom gets it. You're the only one that doesn't seem to be with the program. Aye, Pacha?"

Pacha re-sat himself down and sighed "You know what, one day you're gonna end up all alone, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself."

Kuzco wasn't moved in the slightest "...Thanks for that I'll log that one away. Now for the final time; I order you to take me back to the palace."

The large peasant stood up from his rock "Looks to me your stuck out here, because unless you change your mind; I'm not taking you back." he gave his ultimatum before walking away from this stubborn brick wall of a llama.

"Fine, I'll just have this guy take me back then." Kuzco used his head to gesture to Rito.

"Sorry...we actually just got here not too long ago. So I don't even know where your 'palace' is." he told the llama. "I can't help you."

"We? You mean you're not alone out here?"

Rito shook his head "Nope. I'm here with my-" He stopped short and his eyes widened "Right! My friends!" he frantically searched around himself "I got separated from them!"

"Really?" Pacha grew interested in Rito's tale.

"Yeah!" Rito brightened up and happily brought up three fingers "There's three of 'em! The one that punched me is Ya-" before he stopped short and looked to the side of the ground, uncertainty clearly on his face.

"That doesn't sound very friendly..." Pacha commented on what he just heard. Meanwhile, Rito had gone silent and thought back to Yami punching him, the fear he felt towards her, and her words back in Traverse Town.

Traverse Town - First District (The Past)

"However...This does not mean we are friends, Yuuki Rito."

His smile froze "HUH?" before he frowned "But you came out here to look for me-"

"Only because Mikan asked and gave me the confirmation to search for you." she got up from her chair and began walking in Rito's direction, stopping next to him as he froze in place. "I'm only fulfilling a promise to her by bringing you home...you'd be wise to remember that."

Rito's lip trembled "...You know what, never mind. I got separated from my friends; Lea and Kairi." He excluded Yami from his list of friends. Sure, from how Yami behaved with him it seemed like she and him didn't have a good relationship in the first place, even before he lost his memories. But at the same time...he felt bad for not including her.

Suddenly, the three heard rustling sounds from the foliage to their right. Kuzco panicked and hid behind both Pacha and Rito.

"Not the Jaguars again!" he whined like a spoiled kid.

"It could even be the Heartless." Rito looked at Pacha, then behind himself at Kuzco, before making a decision...

"Don't worry guys." Rito summoned his Keyblade and anxiously stared down the direction of the rustling, which was getting louder and closer, and when it was at it's apex-

"Gather!" Rito thrusted his Keyblade up and cast Magnera, causing a cluster of red and blue spheres to spin around in a pinkish vortex of magic and a quick pulse to push out from the tip of his keyblade. The pulse passes into the foliage...and lifts Yami into the air into the cluster!

"Wha? Yami?!" Rito watched in bewilderment as Yami tumbled around the cluster in the air, trying to gather her bearings and pull herself away from the magic orb.

"Yo Rito!" a familiar voice called out from where Yami was pulled from. He pulled his attention away from Yami to the voice's owner.

"Lea! And Kairi!" he smiled happily as he called out their names. Lea gave a salute along with a grin as the pair stepped through the foliage, with Kairi checking up on Rito's well-being.

"Are you okay?" She asked with concern.

Rito smiled "Yeah, I'm fine Kairi. You won't believe what happened to me though."

Pacha walked up to Rito and his group "So are these the friends you were talking about?"

"Yeah!" he confirmed "But...how did you guys find me?"

Lea put his arm over the newest Keyblade Wielder and brought him closer "Let's just say Little Blonde had a bird's eye view of ya." he told in a hushed tone that Pacha and Kuzco didn't hear.

"What?"

Lea briefly hung his head "Like...she spotted you from the sky...by flying." he quietly explained.

"Ohhh..." Rito nodded, recalling Yami growing those nice white wings during the fight with that Heartless swarm in Traverse Town.

"Uh, speaking of Rito..." Kairi gently tapped the boy's shoulder and pointed up "You might want to put Yami do-"

"Enough...!"

Yami had quickly extended her hair to wrap around a nearby tree and pull herself out of the spell Rito had used. She landed on the ground boots first and; ignoring the beads of sweat on her face, sent a glare in Rito's direction, making Rito once again hide behind Lea.

"Sorry..."

(Later That Night)

"Wow. That's quite a story Pacha." Kairi commented. The night had gotten darker and the campfire Pacha had made lit the area with a soft orange glow, the cackling of the burning wood softly plucking at the ears of everyone in the vicinity. "What Kuzco is forcing upon you and your village is terrible." Speaking of Kuzco, the 'Emperor' was sleeping on his own beside a large rock, away from the group. He wasn't exactly in a social mode.

"Is there anything we can do to help, Lea?" Rito looked to his tall friend, awaiting an idea. "We can't just let him do that, can we?"

Lea sighed and rubbed the back of his head "I wish we could, but it's not like we can go around knocking rulers off their thrones just because we disagree with how they run things." he then leaned in and whispered "You know we gotta keep the World Order, 'no meddling' and all that."

There was a pause before "Yeah...I hear ya." Rito relented with sadness. He stared at the fire a bit before he laid back on the ground, staring up at the stars.

"Anyway, you guys are travelers looking for your friends, right?" Pacha asked his question as he looked over the four of them. "What were their names again?"

"Momo and Zastin." Kairi turned to Yami, who was sitting next to her "Is that right, Yami?"

"Correct." The blonde simply stated as she stared at the fire before taking her attention to the sky.

"Hmm..." Pacha tried to think back "Unfortunately, I can't say I've seen them before, not even in the village or the city below the palace."

"I see..." Kairi was a little disheartened but not deterred "Well, that's okay Pacha." she gave a soft smile.

"It's late. Trying to get through the jungle at this hour would be unwise with all the carnivores around. So we'll continue our search in the morning." Yami kept her eyes on the night sky as she told the rest the best way to proceed.

"Sounds good." Lea stretched up and out before lazily laying back on the ground, preparing to rest.

"...If only we knew how Kuzco got changed into a llama in the first place." Rito spoke out loud "Maybe helping find this 'Secret Lab' he spoke about will change his mind about it?"

Pacha sighed "I appreciate the thought but...I need to face facts. He's never gonna change his mind..."

They all suddenly heard a chattering of teeth behind them. It would appear that the cool air flowing through the jungle was giving Kuzco chills in his sleep. So, after a moment of thought, Pacha got up and walked over to the shivering llama.

"Hmm?" Rito watched along with the others as Pacha took off his poncho...and put it over Kuzco as a makeshift blanket.

He smiled along with Kairi as Pacha came back to the group. "That was awfully nice of you. Despite everything he's putting you through, you're still a good guy."

Pacha gave a small mirthless chuckle "Yeah well, I guess it's just in my nature."

Yami shifted her gaze between Rito and Pacha before turning her attention to the fire.

'Yes...Some people are too good for their own good.'

Empire of The Sun - Palace (Throne Room)

Meanwhile, back at the Palace, Yzma was enjoying her new power as Empress. Once she was instated, she ordered a large makeover to the palace, much of the colors being replaced with dark blue, gray, and black. The throne room itself had many of its colors replaced and the carpet leading out had changed from red to dark purple.

"I must admit, Kronk. You had me worried when you mixed up those potions." Yzma spoke with a lounging tone from her new throne while her assistant Kronk poured her a glass of Red Wine "But now that Kuzco is dead, all is forgiven."

Kronk froze for a moment before he became fidgety "Ah! Oh, Oh yeah. He's-He's dead alright." he tried placing the wine bottle on a nearby pedestal, only for it to fall and shatter on the floor "Oops! Um, I m-mean! You can't get much d-dead-er than h-he is right now." he took out a broom that was conveniently nearby, and nervously swept up the remains of the wine bottle "Unless of course we-we killed him again!"

"...Kronk...?" Yzma once again, suspected something amiss.

"Hey! Did you know I wear a 66 long and a 31 waist?!" he desperately tried to change the subject.

"Kronk?" She used her free hand to cusp his face, fingers laced around his jaw "Kuzco IS dead right? Tell me Kuzco is dead. I NEED to hear these words."

Kronk winced "Well...do you need to hear all those words...exactly?"

*SHATTER*

"He's still alive!?" Yzma's voice became strained with disbelief, not caring that her wine glass had fallen to the floor.

"He's uh, maybe not as dead as we had hoped." her lackey admitted with another wince, remembering the peasant disappearing into the crowd in the middle of the city, with the bag containing Kuzco in his cart.

"Kronk..." Yzma's face went red with growing fury at his incompetence.

"Just thought I'd give you a heads up. Ya know, in case Kuzco ever came back."

"He can't come back!"

"Yeah, that would be kinda awkward..." he uncomfortably folded his hands over each other "Especially after that uh, lovely eulogy."

"You think?!"

Ah yes, that lovely eulogy that only lasted several minutes, mostly due to the fact that NO ONE seemed to care that the selfish Emperor had all of a sudden died on the eve of his eighteenth birthday, not even an investigation was called in as to why.

Yzma aggressively grabbed her henchman by the collar and pulled him in face to face "You and I are going to find him! If he talks, we're through!"

"Now! LET'S! MOVE!"

(The Next Morning)

Empire of The Sun - Jungle (Waterfall Shore)

Kairi stirred and her eyes slowly opened as she woke up from her sleep. Her ears picked up on the sound of birds chirping and she saw that morning had arrived. She sat up and let out a small yawn, checking on Rito and the others to find that they were still sleeping on the ground, all except one.

"Yami?" Kairi called out to the transform-user as she looked around. She spotted Yami not too far away from the group, standing by the shore the large waterfall in the distance fell into. Kairi stretched as she got up from the ground, eyeing Rito before returning her attention to Yami.

'Hmm...maybe now's a good opportunity...' Kairi walked to just behind her, looking down at her hands, wondering how to break the ice.

"Good morning to you." Yami's tone was as stoic as ever as she greeted Kairi without taking her eyes away from the waterfall.

"Good morning, Yami." The Princess of Heart returned her greeting in kind. More silence followed as Kairi thought about what to say.

"Is there something wrong, Princess Kairi?" Yami asked the red-head.

"Hmm? Princess?"

"You are one of the Princesses of Heart. Isn't that correct?"

Kairi became alert at that being brought up "Oh, that! Well...I'd honestly like it if you just kept called me Kairi. The whole 'Princess of Heart' thing doesn't really mean much to me personally."

"...Very well then." Yami simply replied. For a few moments, the two just stood in silence; with the distant crashing of the waterfall, the occasional frog croaking, and the ongoing sound of birds chirping filling the air.

"So..." the red-head beat around the bush for a bit "Is there any reason your standing here?"

"Just standing guard. In the event we get attacked."

Now that Kairi thought about it, she didn't recall Yami ever closing her eyes even for a moment. She couldn't help but bring a hand to her chest. That made her all the more concerned for the mysterious blonde. "...Did you get any rest?" she asked.

"...No, but it's fine. I'm familiar with not resting much."

Especially if that's familiar to her. But...she couldn't ask about Yami, not yet. They'd just met and she didn't want to overstep with such a personal question. So she decided on another question, something less...direct.

"Yami, can I ask you a question?"

"...Yes."

"Just...how do you know Rito?" she couldn't help but ask. "I mean, from how you behave with him, it seems like you two don't have a good relationship. But was it bad where you came from as well?"

"..."

Kairi was met with dead silence from the blonde. She hung her head a bit before turning around to rejoin the others. 'I figured it wouldn't be that easy.'

"Our relationship is...complicated..." Yami spoke up, causing Kairi to stop in her tracks and turn back around "Furthermore..."

"Hmm...?"

Yami angled her head so she was looking over her shoulder "I hate perverts."

This caused Kairi to blush "O-Oh! Well, Umm..." she uncomfortably fiddled with her hands as her blush deepened "I think I understand what you mean. As a fellow girl, I became very familiar with his quirks."

Yami sighed and closed her eyes "Not even a Princess of Heart is safe from his grasp, huh?"

Kairi released an uncomfortable laugh "I guess not."

Yami turned to face the girl "I must apologize to you for being forced to deal with him. He's very infamous to all the girls around him for that reason."

"Oh! I see. So it's happened even before he-" Kairi stopped short, catching herself "...lost his memories."

"That is correct." Kairi could see that Yami's expression was one of annoyance. No doubt in her mind that Yami was thinking of all the times Rito accidentally got 'Hands on' with her.

Kairi smiled sweetly. "I know it's easier said than done, but...could you try not to intimidate him so much? I think Rito would really like that."

Yami's eyes closed and her frown deepened "Kairi, that is asking for quite a bit of patience from me."

"Yes, I'm aware. But...despite his fear, he's very glad that he found someone from his World, someone who knows him no less. It's a huge weight off his heart." Kairi then thought of an idea "Just look at it like this; if he's constantly afraid of you, team dynamic will suffer."

"...Team dynamic?" Yami relaxed as she opened her red eyes and wistfully looked to the side "I'm...not exactly used to fighting alongside a team."

"Then this is the perfect opportunity to get to know what it's like!" Kairi happily stated while she brought up her hands together "You never know, a little effort can go a long way and-"

"Kairi." Yami stoically; if a little somberly, cut into Kairi's words "To be completely honest, it's probably for the best if not just Yuuki Rito, but the rest of you Keyblade Wielders don't get too close to a being like myself."

The Princess of Heart released a short breath, feeling hurt for this girl who; from what it sounded like, thought lowly of herself "Yami-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A loud scream suddenly interrupted the conversation the two girls were having, Lea and Pacha themselves quickly jolted awake!

"Kuzco?!" Pacha and Lea tiredly looked to where Kuzco laid down for the night. To find him surrounded by...shadowy creatures? More like monsters...

Pacha's body went stiff with fright "W-What in the world are those things?"

"The Heartless."

Kairi and Yami had returned to the group and immediately, the Shadows were sliced apart in quick succession by large blades formed from Yami's hair. Kuzco stayed frozen in place, wondering what just happened.

"Wow..." Kairi stared wide-eyed at where the Heartless were destroyed "Thanks Yami. You're quick on the draw."

"Y-Yeah, thanks." Pacha also thanked the girl, unable to take his eyes off the blades of her hair.

Yami noticed this and changed her hair back to normal before she turned her attention to Rito, who was still asleep on the ground, dead to the world. Her eyes narrowed at his sleeping form.

Lea chuckled "Yeah, he's usually a pretty deep sleeper." He walked over to sleeping log, crouched down, and knocked on his head in a slightly rough manner "Hey, it's morning! Rise and shine!"

Lea continued knocking on his head until Rito lazily batted away his hand "Mrrrhh...Five more minutes..." he whined in a rather sleepy cute manner before he re-adjusted himself.

Lea paused, giving the sleeping Rito a lazy-eyed look "Uhhhh...haha..."

"Allow me." Yami volunteered herself with a monotone, getting closer to Rito and used her foot to roughly shove him.

"Mmhhh..." Rito; still half asleep, opened his eyes halfway and looked up, getting a glimpse of a pair of white panties.

"Yuuki Rito...either you get up, or I will get you up."

Rito's eyes snapped open at Yami's voice and he bolted up "Okay-Okay! I'm up! I'm up!" He rapidly rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn, getting himself off the ground. "You know, you don't have to be so scary all the time, Yami."

Yami stared at Rito for a few moments before...

"...My apologies."

Rito blinked, before he smiled "That was nice of you, Yami. Thank you."

She looked away from the boy with a light blush "Just be more alert next time, Kuzco was almost attacked by the Heartless as you just slept your life away."

"He was?!"

"Uh hey." Kuzco's voice got everyone's attention as he walked up to Pacha and awkwardly handed him back his green Poncho "Thanks..."

"Oh!" Pacha took his poncho from the llama's hooves "Yeah...no problem..." he sighed.

"...Feels like wool." the talking llama commented on its fabric.

"Yeah..."

"...Alpaca?"

"Oh yeah. It is..."

"Yeah, I thought so...It's nice..."

Lea and Kairi couldn't help but cringe through the disjointed conversation the two were having when Rito suddenly stepped forward.

"Look...I know it's not my place to say, but..." he clenched his hand into a fist "Do you really have to build that 'Kuzcotopia'?"

"Oh Yeah, about that..." the llama began "Uh...I've been thinking..." he beat around the bush "Ya know...When I got back to the palace...I mean, there are lots of other hilltops...and um...I might wanna..." Kuzco trailed off. Rito simply tilted his head in confusion but what Kuzco was trying to communicate was not lost on the rest of the group.

"Are you saying...you've changed your mind?" Pacha couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Oh well, I um..."

"Because you know that means you'll be doing something nice for someone else." he informed.

"Oh no, I know that..."

"And you're all-right with that?"

"...Yes." Kuzco tone was slightly matter-of-fact. Pacha's eyes narrowed, eying the talking llama suspiciously before he leaned in, keeping his expression the same.

Kuzco wasn't sure where he was going with this "What?" he asked quizzically.

Pacha silently brought up a hand, offering a handshake. Kuzco got the concept and slowly offered his dominant hoof when Pacha suddenly took his hand away.

"Don't shake, unless you mean it."

Clearly this idea of 'shaking hands' meant a lot to Pacha, at least that's what Rito thought as he watched in silence with the others. Kuzco hesitated for a moment before offering his hoof once again and shaking Pacha's hand.

The peasant smiled brightly and intensified the handshake "All-right!" he kindly exclaimed. He let go of Kuzco's hoof and put on his poncho and hat. "Let's get you back to the palace."

"And you know what? We're gonna help you get back."

"What?!/Excuse me?" Kuzco and Yami simultaneously replied to Rito's sudden declaration.

"Well...what if the Heartless show up and attack you again?" Rito walked up to the two "It wouldn't feel right to just leave you guys alone while they're around, especially if Kuzco is the Ruler of this place. So...I think we should come along."

"Yuuki Rito." Yami began with a hardened tone "We're on a search and rescue mission of our own, do we really have the time to help these strangers?"

"Oh! Um well..."

"No...I think we should follow Rito's lead on this." Lea walked up from behind "It's kinda our duty to keep people safe from the threats of darkness, and in case you haven't noticed Little Blonde, we're the strangers here."

"And it's not like we can't keep an eye out for your allies while helping Pacha and Kuzco." Kairi supported.

"That's right. I call it 'being flexible'. Got it memorized?"

Yami stared at the pyromancer in silence for a few moments before turning back to Rito.

"Fine then." she relented.

Rito gave a smile "OK! Thanks!" and turned back to Kuzco and Pacha "Well, that settles it. We're coming with you."

"Thanks, but what do you mean by threats of darkness?" Pacha asked.

"Oh! Uh..."

"We'll explain on the way to the palace." Yami told him "We should get going before the Heartless return. Lead the way Pacha."

"Sure." Pacha nodded and started to lead the group ahead out of the jungle. Once Kuzco was in the back out of earshot of everyone, he whispered to himself...

"This...makes things difficult..."

So...that Smash Bros. Sora reveal!

In fact, that reveal gave me the push I needed to get this chapter out sooner. Now, onto the chapter itself:

1. The dream sequence in the beginning is purposely vague due to reasons I won't go into, hence its simplistic and not detailed writing compared to the rest of this chapter.

2. Initially, the scene with Kairi and Yami wasn't going to be included in this chapter. But I decided to include it to give Kairi a moment to shine her light. But Yami seems reluctant...

Next time! Lea's past come back to haunt him and his team. And...a betrayal?!