Well, here is the second chapter. I would like to update maybe twice a month, but once a month might be more realistic. Thank you to my one reviewer. It is nice to know that someone is following and enjoying the story so far.

Song for this chapter

Sora by Project Destati


The Begininng of a New Adventure

I leaned against the wall, attempting to catch my breath, fighting off stars in my vision from the pain in my arm that was now aching again. Looking down I saw that the bandage was still dry, and I silently thanked the gang back at the hotel. My chest hurt. Whatever the heartless did, it's effects were lingering. Sliding down the wall, I took in as deep of a breath that I could.

My thoughts drifted back to the ache in my shoulder and my father filled my memories. There was once a happier time for us, before my mother died, but those times were hard for me to remember. Words of his disappointment flitted through me, harsh fights and things that should have never been said to a daughter by her father. I clenched my fists, anger weaving around me, darkness rising from my skin, the power beckoning my name.

My head shot up as I sensed something. Darkness? It wasn't my darkness. A Cool night breeze, crisp ocean air, a setting sun . Riku turned a corner and stopped when he saw me. I glared at him, leaning my head back against the wall and huffing. Couldn't a girl get a little peace around here? My head began to ache. I was quickly learning the repercussions from the darkness I used.

"You look great." He said walking up to me.

"What?" I looked around sarcastically, like he was talking to someone else.

"Well the last time I said something about how terrible you looked you practically took my head off. So I figured I would try the opposite approach." He said, crouching in front of me.

"So now you are a liar." I breathed out, a laugh on my lips.

"I wouldn't say that." He smiled at me. There was so much to read in his eyes, including a dark shadow lurking there. What had Leon said about darkness? Oh yeah, that it would probably kill me. I rolled my eyes and stood, making myself as tall as I could. One of the biggest mistakes someone could make was showing their vulnerabilities to their enemies. Not that Riku was an enemy that I could tell. But I was a big girl and could take care of myself.

Speaking of weakness, I wished away my headache. It didn't work "So, why haven't you come out? Sora has been talking about you, I'm sure he would like to know you are safe "

"Nah, Sora? Worried? I can't picture it." He looked over in my direction, I could feel jealousy written deep within his heart, but for what reason? Riku was older, stronger and more mature than Sora. I smiled. "Besides, I have to find Kairi." He finished.

"I'm sure we could help." I knew how happy Sora would be if they could search for Kairi together, he reminded me a lot of Sora. He cared for his friends and he had a genuine heart. But his attention was on something completely different . He had seen something down the alley, turning the corner. I caught sight of it too as I watched a black robe disappear behind another wall.

"Listen, there is a lot more going on here than you might think. A battle between light and darkness is upon us. Worlds are being devoured and then people we love are missing. We all need to make the choice, which side are we willing to fight on? The darkness, or the light?" He was staring hard at me, searching my eyes for an answer.

Wasn't darkness the root of all evil? Sure, it seemed to be more powerful, but wasn't that why it was so dangerous? It nestled its way into a person's heart and then they became corrupted, never able to escape its clutches. I felt a pang in my heart at this realization. Was I guilty of this already?

"Let me guess, you chose darkness? You seem pretty set on this all powerful b.s., It is kind of cute actually." I prayed my voice would not betray my own fear and doubt that settled over me. I had been tempted by darkness, but I would not choose it outright. I would fight for my light, my freedom.

"I have chosen to look for friends that I lost, and protect Kairi, I guess everything else will come naturally."

"Oh, there is that name again. She must be pretty special" I could not help myself. Riku did not seem like the jealous jerks that I dealt with in the past, but with his pride on his sleeve and an heir of self importance practically bursting from him. I had to poke the bear. I was surprised when He smiled at me again.

I could feel a dark power coming from him, but it was different.. It brushed up against my darkness. It seemed to soothe it in some sort of way. what a curious feeling... I snapped out of my thoughts when Riku spoke again.

"You know, you still really suck with that thing." He said pointing to my glaive.

"Well, I haven't had much experience with this sort of weapon, so ya, I do, big deal." I tried to brush it off, but his words really bothered me. I was impatient, and it upset me that I was not automatically great with my weapon like Sora was. I was also prone to running head first into situations that I did not understand, and trying to fix problems right away, which probably did not compliment my lack of patience.

"You just need practice." He said. As if the fates could hear us, a band of heartless appeared.

"What a great opportunity." He said, jumping up. I stood beside him, trying to muster the energy to care about taking out heartless

"Are you ready Akari?" He brought his blade up close to his face

I let out a sigh "Just shut up and start taking them out." My glaive materialized in my hand,

The heartless leapt towards us. It took all my instincts not to bring my hands up to my head to protect myself. I slashed out at a shadow as it lunged in my direction, it disappeared almost immediately. I swung my glaive around in a sweeping motion and took out another. Different types of heartless were appearing now, ones with armor, and they proved harder to take out. Riku was right, and I was soon overwhelmed by a mix of the heartless.

Panicked, I brought my weapon up in front of my face to deflect a direct hit from a soldier, only to be flanked by another, Before I could defend myself it latched onto my arm. I brought it up to my face and let out a scream. "Get off you creep!" I shook my arm, finally deciding after little success to bring my glaive knife down on his head. He let my arm go, leaving a fresh bite wound.

From the sounds of it, Riku was doing just fine, and after I dispatched the blood sucking heartless I spared a glance in his direction. He was actually smiling. It did not last long, because now we were surrounded. We backed up until our backs met. "Got any bright ideas?" my voice wavered, our luck was running out now. The wave of heartless seemed relentless. I think Riku could sense it too because I felt him tense.

"The only thing we can do is take out as many as possible and hope we get lucky." he said. I nodded, bracing myself for an attack, but it didn't come. One by one the heartless disappeared until they were gone. I straightened up, not letting my blade disapparate in fear of another fight or a set up. Nothing happened. I turned around and Riku gave me a puzzled look.

The wind began to blow, a light breeze ruffling my bangs, and a black hole stood in front of us. My breath caught as something came through the tunnel. The air around me became heavy, suffocating. My breath did not want to come, and my chest was frozen. A tall woman with horns coming from her head and black bird on her shoulder walked through the opening. And she was clapping.

"That was very good my dears, I thought they would finish you off for sure, especially amatures like you." Her voice was soft, and it sent chills down my spine. I did not like this lady, an alarm was sounding in me to get away as fast as possible. "I, Maleficent, congratulate you on slaying so many heartless."

"I am not an amature," Riku chimed in, "That should be clear to you."

"Indeed, let me tell you a secret, I can give you power and glory, far more than any abilities you might acquire on your own. The only catch is, you have to come with me." She said. I felt disgusted by her words, and the darkness in her heart was overwhelming my senses.

A strange sense washed over me. Riku's darkness had almost felt inviting, but this darkness was pure evil. Was there a difference in dark powers?

Making up my mind I began to say "We don't need you-" but was cut off by Riku.

"I'm in," His voice was clear as day, and I stared at him, sure the exasperated look on my face was back.

"Can I talk to you?" I did not give him time to answer before I grabbed his arm and pulled him away around a building corner. "She reeks of darkness! Are you sure that it's a good idea to go off with a complete stranger, when we don't even know where we are and what the hell happened to our home worlds?" His eyes furrowed and he spoke with caution.

"Thanks MOM." he spat. "But she might be the only one that can help me find Kairi," said Riku. I was hurt by his words. I had offered to help just moments ago. Was it because I did not possess her power and strength? I wasn't good enough for him.

I lowered my gaze, staring at the stone ground, "I just don't have a good feeling about her," My eyes found his. And I don't even know why I care... I thought to myself, my heart still sank when he spoke next.

"I'm sorry Akari, but I have to do whatever I can to find Kairi," He said softly. I looked away, heat rising to my cheeks in anger, anger for getting my hopes up that he would stay, anger at myself for believing maybe I would have a friend like me, someone that shouldered a little darkness. RIku grabbed my hand. I could not meet his eyes. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out an intricate black braided key chain. Riku undid the braid and tugged a piece from it, wrapping my arm where the heartless had bitten me.

"My friends and I made this from an old cloth we used on the first sailboat we made as kids. It got washed away during a storm one day. We found the sail stuck in a tree and decided to make something out of it. I used to carry this around for good luck, but it seems that you can use it more than me right now. Also, I highly doubt it prevents rabies, so if the next time I see you, you are acting all sorts of crazy I will do my best to avoid you." Laughing, I opened and closed my palm.

"Come with me." Riku said. I looked up to the starry sky. Maybe my friends were looking for me too. I felt a pull at my heart to follow this strange boy, the darkness coming from him both a comfort and a curse. But I couldn't bring myself to follow that witch.

"Ask me again when you don't reek of darkness." I said turning towards him. He lowered his eyes, then his hand, and smiled.

"Take care, Feisty." He patted my head.

"Excuse me?" I batted his hand away.

"Exactly," he said, turning and walking away. I stood there stunned for a minute. I could not believe he just called me a name. I chased after him, catching only a glimpse of his back as a dark portal closed behind him and the mysterious lady.

I sighed and fell back against a brick wall, feeling more alone than I ever had. At least Riku and Sora had a girlfriend to go and save. Stepping forward off the wall, I banished that thought. I had a prince to look for. Big brothers that were probably just as worried about me as I was them.

When I arrived back, Leon was standing amongst the group. Sora smiled and waved me over. He glanced down at the fabric wrapped around my forearm, but didn't ask any questions. I was introduced to Donald the duck, and Goofy the dog. They seemed friendly enough. He explained to me that they had been looking for the person with the keyblade, and that they were going to travel to different worlds together to try and find RIku, Kairi, and their king. I took it all in as it came, trying to make sense of it all. At least my headache was going away.

"You should go too." Leon said turning to me. "That weapon you hold is important, it could greatly aid your companions." His voice was hopeful as he added, "You have friends that you are looking for as well. Maybe you will find them along the way."

I looked at my feet. If I went with Sora, I could see new places, look for my friends, and maybe even get back home. But didn't my heart just pull me in the other direction?Towards a mysterious boy with a similar goal? Sighing, I turned to Sora, more confused now more than ever.

"I know that you want to find your friends too, and it would be awesome if you came along," Sora's smile was brilliant. My chest felt suddenly heavy and tight. I missed my friends so much. The light radiating off of Sora was contagious, The morning sun on a summer day, the hope of a new beginning.

"Ok, I will go with you," I gave in. The warmth in his eyes made it too tempting to say no. I caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye. Was it Riku? The short look I had was not enough to tell.

We made our way to the world entrance, where the gummi ship awaited. As Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all chatting I turned towards Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith. "Thank you," I said, bowing slightly.

"For what?" Yuffie laughed.

"For helping me feel better, and pushing me to go farther." Aeirith wrapped her arms around me in an embrace. I returned her hug.

"Just be safe," She said, releasing me. I waved goodbye to them as the doors closed on Traverse Town.

I hated flying. Always had, always would. My knuckles were white from gripping the seat. Sora's blue eyes met my brown ones. His eyes furrowed at first before his mouth broke into a grin. I glared at him. "Are you afraid of flying?" He asked sheepishly.

"No, I'm afraid of crashing while flying." I corrected him. His grin widened, showing all his teeth.

"Well, I'm going to be the pilot, so there is nothing to worry about," The confidence in his voice was unwavering.

"Uh, Sora, have you ever flown in a gummi ship before?" I was skeptical. I had only heard of planes and floating warships, never a gummi ship, and at this point I was almost positive Sora had not either.

"Hey, I'm the pilot!" Donald exclaimed. Inhale, and exhale, everything would be ok, just keep breathing.

"That's not fair! I called dibs!" Sora yelled at Donald. I quickly buckled my seatbelt and groaned. After all was said and done, Sora was strapped into the seat next to me, his arms across his chest, and the ship was taking off. I kept focusing on my breathing as my stomach did backflips.

All the while, I couldn't shake the feeling of excitement. A grand adventure, new friends, and seeing places I never knew existed. A heart as indecisive as the blade, what will it choose? I pushed the voice out of my thoughts. Ready to make new memories.