You can become powerful on your own.
But when the day comes when someone you trust invites you to join them, don't turn it down.
'Cause there's limits to what only one can do.
(Begin Crossing Field)
A lone figure, a boy, sits in the rain, his weapon, shaped like a key, planted in the ground beside him. Black is his clothes with white lining. Gloves with flesh at the fingers. Strong boots with metal buckles and armor. A belt at the waist of the coat that reaches his lower legs, leaving the clothing open to the shirt and pants underneath. Another across his torso, bearing a metal plate, securing the strap tight around him. An empty expression, as void as the black hair on his head. Grey eyes as blank as the face he bears. He stands, dismisses his blade and walks the path alone.
A girl, clad in white, as pure as her heart, red adorning the edges, much like the scars of the past. A white blade, key-like, angelic, beautiful. Chestnut hair, pretty as the sun, long and outstretched. Warm eyes, inviting as kindness is. Determination etched, a strong face, compared perfectly to her stride onward on a sun-stroked road, as if seeking something...or someone. Beside her, a mirage of who she used to be.
Both, as well as others, look to the sky. Shrouded by clouds, black as the dark, empty as a void, anticipated to rain, yet never falling. A sky covered, littered in red takes over. They all stand over a pool of black. All fall, one by one, until the boy is the last.
The boy appears, striking at the darkness with his blade, malicious, deadly, dangerous, with a chain down the blade, imprisoning as his heart is. A giant stands above him in a room lit in blue, as they fight in a circle room. With a single strike, he stuns the beast. A white blur rushes past him, daring to stand between the beast and its target; the girl has come. The monster strikes with its own giant blade, misshapen, ugly. The girl dodges, rubs up the blade and barrages the creature with thrusts of her blade.
The boy rushes forward and slashed across its body, now standing stagnant. The two fighters stand together, mists of unknowns around them. A girl with a dragon, a girl with pink hair, a lonely girl with blue hair, a figure in white around screens with code, a red-haired man covered in armor, his thumb up to the two, a black man with a look of pride on the two, a man with sinister intent, a man in grand, red armor, almost knight-like, a sword and shield in his hands, a smile adorning his much older face.
The two warriors, now standing alone, eyes closed, weapons in the air. Him, then her, open their eyes. Standing straight now, dismiss their weaponry: his to his back, hers to her waist. The creature of darkness explodes behind them.
The girl watches as the boy in black walks to his destination, alone, wishing she had the courage to join him, or for him to invite her to. But neither happened. Never turning back, he walks his way. Eyes to the ground, head held up, hands to his sides, his feet dragging his body forward.
He looks up to find himself on a platform in a place of nothing else, or so it seems. His sleeping form adorns the stained glass he stands upon, his weapon in his left hand, the purple gem above his hand sparkling, resting on his blade, connecting two black wings surrounding his hand. The teeth on the end of the blade in the shape of a kanji he's entirely familiar with. It's his target.
Dark, he mouths to no one.
(End Crossing Field)
(Begin Dive to the Heart)
The boy stares at the floor. His coats edges swaying with the wind that comes from nowhere, calm and softly. His eyes are still so empty. A voice appears.
Tedious tasks ahead, pressed for time, be patient, but don't waste it. Show no fear.
A pillar of light appears from above, shining down on the center of the glass ground he stands on.
The gap remains unbridged.
Hesitantly, the boy walks toward the light. His black attire sticks out under the brightness. The pillar disappears. Three weapons appear around him. A shield. Broad and sturdy.
Strength is dormant in your frame.
A staff. Mystical and beautiful.
If you project it forth...
A sword. Deadly and powerful.
...it will grant you your power.
Choose with will.
The boy walks to the sword, immediately drawn to it. Taking it in hand, he examines it with care.
The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.
Is this the path you choose?
The boy sought inside himself. He knew a sword is a tool to destroy. Deep inside, what you put behind it is all that matters. With this in mind, he knew it also had the power to save.
Yes, he thought.
The sword vanished and his hand seemed to absorb its power.
You have decided your path. Such power requires sacrifice. So, what will you leave behind in favor of your choice?
I don't wish to give up security. And yet, I want to do the extraordinary. The boy shook his head. One doesn't have to be extraordinary to do extraordinary things. Safety and security will guide me on my way along with my power.
Mind made up, the boy walked to the staff and grasped it.
The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. You give up this power.
Giving it up doesn't mean it won't come back. So, yes.
The staff vanished and a power feels like it left him.
You've chosen the power of the warrior. You've objected the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?
The boy closed his eyes and saw a face similar to him, yet he had blonde hair and wore bright blue. He nodded his head, his wavy hair bobbing with him.
Opening eyes, the boy thought, Yes.
A loud crack sounded, and the glass he stood upon shattered. He fell...
..and fell.
He saw a purple platform with a man with a sinister smirk on his face. He looked deranged. His black booted feet landed on the platform.
A surging went through his body. In his hand appeared a black blade in the shape of a key. The teeth showed the kanji for dark. The tip stood out with a white coloring to it. Attached to the beginning of the blade and the arrow shape that led to the tip was a long, sturdy chain. A purple, sparkling gem united two black, demon shaped wings that surround his hand on the handle. The handle had a pattern on it that enabled better grip for his gloved hand. The pommel was sharp and had a keychain attached to it. At the end of the black chain rested a crown, equally as black, yet grand.
You've attained the power to survive.
Cradling the weapon to his battle pose, the boy prepared to swing the blade. He stood with his left foot forward, right foot back to the side, his back curved to lean him forward, his open hand clenched in front of him, his sword hand behind him, outside and to his right, ready for anything.
He took a swing. During the swing, he stepped forward with his back foot. Swiftly, the boy readjust himself to his ready position.
Excellent! Good form. Utilize your strength to protect yourself and others.
Shadows appeared over the white parts of the deranged man's armor in his image on the platform.
There will be times you must defend from threats. That light within the shadows of yourself: keep it alive.
Taking the initiative, the boy attacked one shadow, swiping once, twice, and destroyed it with a finisher where his weapon glowed at the blade. The other shadows vanished.
I'll call it a sword skill, he thought. Horizontal.
A shadow crawled in its 2 dimensional form behind the boy, hoping to surprise attack him.
From the back!
The boy spun around, clasped the handle of his weapon, now glowing, with both hands, and slashed the shadow dead.
Back Strike, he thought.
More shadows appeared. Needing no advice, the boy swung more and more at them until he dispatched the last with his Horizontal skill.
The floor of the platform was vanishing into black. The boy dismissed the weapon behind his back. When the floor was finally gone, he started to fall. Not quickly. Rather it felt like he was sinking in quicksand. Worry flashed behind his usually empty, gray eyes. His head finally sank that last inch.
He thrashed at the shadows surrounding him.
Opening his eyes, the boy found himself on a bright blue platform with a girl with bright blue hair and a sniper rifle in her hands, focus and determination in her eyes. Standing up and turning around he saw what looked like a purple door adorned with golden decorations, looking royal and form and decorum.
What was more was that the door appeared transparent. The boy couldn't walk through it, neither could he grasp the handle. Neither side appeared to have anything behind them; just the same door.
There must be a way, the boy contemplated.
Suddenly, a chest appeared on top of the scope of the girl's rifle. The dimensions of the chest were outlined in gold and the base color was red with a lock over the bottom of the top part of the chest, on the front view. The boy bent down and pried it open with ease. Inside was a Potion. He stored the item into his pocket to use later.
The arch of the door turned solid. A boar-like shadow appeared and readied itself to charge at him. The boy instinctively brought his blade near his right cheek, poised at the monster. He turned his body parallel to his weapon, head facing his enemy. The blade glowed red.
Rushing forward, the two advanced at each other, tusks dashing to meet his flesh, key-shaped sword intent to destroy its form. On the third step, the boy leapt off his right foot, thrust his arm forward, swiftly turned his body to be behind the pommel, eyes wide and mouth open in a silent cry.
First time I actually tried to make a sound out loud, he mentioned to himself.
His blade went right through in a red flash and he appeared behind the creature of darkness. It vanished in a purple mist; the beast was vanquished.
The boy landed on his feet and hunched forward with his blade extended still. Balancing himself into his usual posture and stared at his weapon.
What do I call that Sword Skill? he thought. The purple rhombus-shaped gem twinkled. That's it. Vorpal Strike.
The doors on the door turned solid. It looked just as majestic as the boy thought it would. After he stood in front of the double doors, the boy placed his hand on the center. After doing so, a click sounded from behind(?) the door. Backing away hesitantly, he stared in interest as the doors seemed to move open on their own.
Once it finally opened, a blinding light broke through. The boy raised his coated arms to shield his eyes from the magnitude of its brightness. After the doors opened all the way, he lowered his arms and found himself walking into the light.
*facepalm Did I just make a pun that bad?
When his eyes opened, he found himself in a square of what looked like a town. In it stood three people: a little girl with pigtails with in the shape of her locks of hair. In her lap sat a little blue dragon with a ruby on its head. The girl's eyes matched the jewel's color. She was dressed in red and black with a skirt and long socks inside her shoes. She sat in front of him on a bench.
To his right stood a tall, black man dressed in green. His head was bald and had a full mustache and beard. His brown eyes were kind and strong. He had his hands on his hips in a surprisingly friendly manner. His dimensions matched the strength in his eyes.
Sitting on the hard ground in a meditative position was a red-headed man with scruff on his chin and jaw, dressed in samurai armor. A white, diamond shape formed by four, small, white diamonds separated by a red "X" shape that matched the color of his chest plate. There was an eager, fiery spirit to this man. And honor.
Just a moment.
The voice was back.
The bridge can't begin its stretch to the other sideat the moment.
First tell me a tad about you.
The boy walked up to the little girl and she looked at him. Not that he could hear, but he could tell what she asked.
"What's the most important thing to you?"
Instantly, one thought crossed his mind. The people around me.
As if she could hear him, she echoed him, "'The people around you.'? Is it that big a deal?"
Confused by her response to his answer, he stepped to the black man. He regarded him carefully and asked, "What do you want outta life, man?"
To do the right thing.
The man crossed his arms and smirked. "'To do the right thing.', huh?"
Further confused be these strangers(?), the boy stepped to the last person. The man looked up to him and asked, "What are you so afraid of?"
Being too late.
"'Being too late.'? Is it that scary for you?"
The boy returned to the center of the square. He thought to himself why this was happening. On cue, the voice appeared.
You care about those around you.
You want to do the right thing.
You're afraid of being too late.
Your adventure begins at the dead of night. This path is treacherous and full of strife. Stay strong and true and a bright star will be waiting for you at the end.
The boy chuckled soundlessly and placed his hand on his hip with his eyes closed, a smirk on his face. I'm game.
The setting started to fade into the light that brought him there.
The fateful day you will bridge the gap is both out of sight and in plain view.
After the light had faded, the boy found himself on another stained glass platform with the image of a man in knightly, red armor with a shield in his hand and a sword in the other. He was much older looking than the others. A pillar of light appeared again. Knowing what to do, the boy ran to it.
A small shadow appeared to his right. Those creatures from before were back. The boy summoned his weapon and stood ready. More and more appeared. He was surrounded. He smirked.
Three of these leapt at once to strike him. The boy unleashed the Horizontal skill. Then, he used the Back Strike and struck two down. Their numbers had dwindled. He ran forward and poised himself like he was about to do Vorpal Strike; however, he rotated his arm to slash down. The black blade glowed a brilliant blue. He then followed up with an upward slice in an arc shape. The last shadow was down.
How about that one? The blade answered in kind. Vertical Arc.
What looked like a pool of life appeared on the floor near the opposite end of the platform. The pillar of light that shined over it told him to step init. The boy did so. Immediately, he felt as if he'd been rejuvenated with new life. Something told him he'd see these often.
A small disc shot from the pool to the edge it was closest to. Stained glass stairs, adorned with multiple colors for their pattern, leading to what appeared to be another platform. A red glow came from it. The boy began to ascend the steps and broke into a run. As he advanced, the stairs disappeared.
When he reached the top, he spotted another pillar of light in the center of the platform. He walked under it. Boy was he in for a surprise. He stared at the image before him. On the platform was the image of a girl with chestnut colored hair and eyes of the same color. She looked fiery. And yet, welcoming. What was behind her struck him more than her beauty. It was him. Clad in the same black coat as the one he wore now. In his hands were two key-shaped weapons similar to his, but so different.
Forewarning. The closer you are to light the greater the shadows seem.
The boy turned around and looked at his shadow. Suddenly, it stood up. It was gigantic. Slowly it started to mold into something else. More monstrous. Where his hands were supposed to be, there were indeed hands, but with claws. Where booted feet were supposed to be, there were goat legs with hooves. Where a blank face was supposed to be, there was a goat face and horns, malicious and feral.
But show no fear.
And don't forget...
Without a second thought, the boy ran to where the stairs were supposed to be. Thankfully, he caught himself before he fell.
Looks like I don't have a choice, he thought.
He prepared for battle as he turned to face the monster. In its right hand was a gnarly looking blade, wide as a walkway, and sharper than words. It's eyes gleamed from red to blue.
The Gleam Eyes. Yeah. That's the perfect name.
The monster raised its blade at breakneck speed and thrust it at the boy. He deflected the blow to stab into the floor, which somehow didn't shatter. Taking the chance to get ahead, the boy jumped on the flat part of the creature's massive glaive and ran up its length to attack his adversary's horned head. It reeled in pain as it attempted to rip the blade out of the floor and was struck by a Vorpal Strike at the end of the warrior's combo.
The colossal blade was wrenched free, so the boy jumped over the beast's head and performed a Sword Skill as he fell: a vertical slash downward, then a horizontal to the right, spun into another vertical, and finished with a slash to the left. A square shape was formed when he finished. When he landed, the four slashes dispersed as they dealt four more strikes in the same spots.
Vertical Square. Nice!
The creature couldn't handle the concussive force of the blows to the back of the head and fell on all fours, its head exposed and ready for more bashing. The boy took the chance to use one Sword Skill after another. Vorpal Strike, Horizontal, Back Strike, Vertical Arc.
As he was about to call upon the last skill he had, the Gleam Eyes got up and swung at him. Getting crafty, the boy blocked the blade with the first three blows of Vertical Square. On the fourth blow, he parried the monster's swing. Unexpectedly, the Gleam Eyes blasted him with a breath attack. He was blinded and left open to the fist that came his way.
The boy was blasted towards the edge of nowhere. Is this it?
I believe in you-
A feminine voice broke through his disoriented mind. It sounded like she said something else, but was muffled. Regardless, it gave him strength. Black wings shot out from his back. They were nearly transparent and thin, but strong. Maneuvering himself to strike, the boy charged a blood-red Vorpal Strike that looked like it was about to burst out. His steel-gray eyes turned a bright red, the white of his eyes surrounding the crimson irises and black of his pupils, nearly gone, centering the blood-like eyes. Crying out without any sound, he flew forward, faster than a bullet, and struck the Gleam Eyes through the gut.
Darkness exploded from its chest. The boy was drained. The wings disappeared, as did his blade. His once raging, ruby reds back to blank gray. He fell to the cold floor on his back and was sinking into a dark pit, blacker than his coat. He watched as the Gleam Eyes slowly fell on top of him.
--Show no fear.
Your will is the strongest of all.
So don't forget:
The two...had fallen into the darkness.
You are the one that will bridge the gap over these crossing fields.
(End Dive to the Heart)
A/N: Total disclaimer, I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do not own Sword Art Online. Next, I have figured out the reason as to why I haven't written in a while. I truthfully wanted to write something different than my usual. I wanted to write something about my new favorite anime: Sword Art Online. I cannot believe I hadn't heard of it since before the beginning of the year. The urge to do something with this and cross it with a fitting game was driving me crazy that I couldn't write anything else. Sorry, guys. I just have to get these few chapters out before I go back to the rest. Anything you like about this, just comment about it please. If you have ideas for the future, again comment. Even if you don't like it, comment. Doesn't mean I'll stop.
Small bit about the story: Kirito or rather Kazuto Kirigaya (but we're calling him Kirito) lives in the world Aincrad, the Floating Castle with his friends on the 22nd floor. No dungeons (sorry). No bosses, save for the Gleam Eyes when the world dies (spoiler; again, sorry). They're all training to join the raid on the 100th floor that houses creatures of darkness and the Keyhole. He does not have the Keyblade yet. Heathcliff has Asuna as his second in command of the KoB (if you don't know what that is, please watch the anime) and hasn't met Kirito and the others (save for Liz (again; watch it)). Klein is their mentor and is leader of the Furrenkazin (sorry if I misspelled) guild. While the others are friends with him and train with each other, Kirito fights wild animals to train, at least when it's not with Klein or Agil. He has a little sister, named Leafa. When they were younger, their parents were murdered by a man that could command the shadows. Leafa doesn't remember much about the details, Kazuto won't ever forget. That's because they were killed right in front of him. A kid at ten.
After that Klein took them in and others they found: Silica, Sachi, Lisbeth (Liz), Eugeo, and Alice. Ever since then, Kazuto changed his name to Kirito and forwent his last name, became emotionally and socially detached (except for Leafa), and sought revenge for his parents. Along the way, he came to care for his friends. He became best friends with Eugeo and Alice. He sees Silica and Sachi as other sisters and Liz as a thorn in his side, but a necessary evil because of her occupation.
More on the way...
F7S