They didn't meet with any new problems as they left the Lotus Forest, whatever Riku might have thought. In fact, it didn't seem that they would encounter anything else that might complicate things, at least that day. Kairi wasn't altogether confidant of her ability to fight Heartless or whatnot. She was sort of hoping for some time before they met their first noteworthy opponent in which she could prepare, maybe have Riku help her train with a weapon.

The Fates must have been laughing at her.

The first indication of trouble had been obvious the moment they stepped from the glimmer- inky black shadows had begun to pool themselves on the ground, solidifying into the distinct forms of Heartless. Their steel claws clicked together, faint hisses issuing from their mouths as they began to advance forward. Kairi felt her blood run cold.

Riku swore and drew out a long, curved blade. Sei followed suite with his dual keyblades.

"Stay behind us Kairi!" Riku warned.

Several Heartless launched themselves at Sei; the dual-blade wielder sliced through the creatures with what was obviously practiced ease, and then ran forward to plow through the growing onslaught. Riku did the same, laying precise and deadly blows on those that attempted to pit themselves against him. Kairi had her hand in helping too; she was not going to allow herself to simply sit back and watch, ready or not.

"Firaga!"

A blast of fire issued from her wand, dissipating a larger gathering of Heartless. She bashed another one on top of its head as it clawed at her heels and then followed Riku and Sei as they pushed their way through the masses. Even as they ran, many more Heartless kept growing from the shadows, threatening to overwhelm them. And it looked like they would, if something wasn't done soon.

"What are we doing?" Kari gasped at Riku's side. "There are too many of them; we can't beat them all!"

"I don't intend to!" Riku yelled back.

There was a blur of light and a metallic whistle as Riku brought his blade down on several more Heartless.

"The Heartless-they have to be coming-from somewhere-right?"

"Thundaga!"

Kairi cast another spell, bolts of electricity falling from the heavens onto several more Heartless.

"Someplace that wasn't open before, or else we would have known-"

He gritted his teeth against the collision of his sword against a heavily armored Heartless.

"We have to find it-and a way to seal it."

They plunged forward. Soon, a District Gate could be seen looking before them and they ran through these, pulling the doors closed behind them; perhaps it would buy them a little time to finish this. The thumps of Heartless bodies and the scrape of their sharp claws on the wood were the last sounds they heard as they again proceeded.

It was in front of the accessory shop that they saw the door the Heartless had been using. It was completely different from the one the three had just used to enter Wonderland- this one appeared almost a shard of the Heartless insigne floating in the air. Riku was right; this was something that had only just appeared recently. What had caused its appearance?

"All right, Sei; let's see you seal this up."

Theoretically, it should have worked-Sei should have been able to use the keyblade to seal the break into the world of the Heartless. There was, of course, only one problem with the execution of that theory:

Sei was gone.

"Sei!" Kairi called, hoping that maybe Sei would respond from wherever he was. She put her hands down when there was no answer.

"I don't remember us getting separated with him." She said doubtfully.

Riku, on the other hand, was feeling less charitably towards Sei.

"Damn him!" Riku muttered under his breath. "Just when we needed someone with a pair of keyblades-"

He stopped when he realized that something was moving from inside the fissure. A fanged snout protruded from the break, the body inside writhing and squirming, and then a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Riku had barely any time to take this in when the Heartless finally emerged fully from its world; it appeared to be something like a snake, with plate upon plate of metallic armor and rows of shiny spikes all across its back and body. It took a moment study its situation; then it struck.

Riku quickly deflected the attack with his sword, a sound of metal bouncing on metal echoing from the crash. The sword acquired a serious crack through its blade as a result of this; the Heartless seemed not to have taken the least bit of damage on its resistant plates.

It rounded on Kairi, the human it viewed as the easier pray. Shards of needle-sharp ice flew at its face from a Blizzaga, most of which it simple brushed off. One managed to nick it in the eye; the Heartless screamed in fury before lunging at Kairi. She slid across the ground on her side from, the force of the blow but didn't seem harmed any farther than being somewhat bruised and scraped. The Heartless snapped its jaws, ready to devour the girl's heart.

"Kairi!!"

Riku threw himself at the Heartless, slashing at it with his ruined weapon.  The Heartless raised its long tail and struck Riku away without even bothering to turn its head. Riku slammed against the concrete, tasting blood.

He had done a lot of stupid things in his past because of his own ignorance and selfishness, but he'd sworn he'd make amends for it all.

~I'm not going to allow any Heartless to take away one of the most important people to me

He stood up, determined to keep trying to fight the Heartless.

~I'll protect my friends...no matter what happens to me

There was a flare of blinding, ribboned light. A familiar, cool weight dropped into Riku's hand.

He didn't stop to think and dashed forward with a fierce battle cry. The keyblade struck the black scales, shattering them like glass. Riku cut through the Heartless with another sweep, the creature vanishing in a swirl of smoky tendrils.

The opening still remained in the air, pulsing with a dark light. Riku raised his keyblade, and bands of white, gray, and black light were released form the key's tip, lacing over the hole in an elaborate net before completely sealing it over. With the door had been closed, Riku turned around to make sure that Kairi was okay. She was still on the ground, watching him a mix of surprise and wonder. He smiled weakly at her, leaning on his keyblade as a crutch.

~This is...unbelievable...

Then he passed out. Sei stood behind Kairi, holding a white keyblade over his shoulder. Kairi rushed forward with a cry when she saw Riku hit the floor. A shadow passed over her as Sei followed, kneeling down to lift Riku from the ground.

"He'll be fine...just help me with him on the other side."

Kairi didn't question Sei's sudden appearance, or the unworried loss of one of his keyblades, but hurried to help him with Riku's unconscious body. Together, they made their way through Traverse Town's quiet streets.

###

"You knew."

Those were the first words out or Riku's mouth when he woke up.

Sei was leaning on the bedpost without a hint of surprise at the statement. They were back at the house in Third District, a few hours after the fight against the Heartless. Since then, the seemingly endless sea of Heartless had disappeared, presumably pulled back to their own world.

"You knew all along that that was going to happen." Riku paused for breath.

"And that stupid cat knew, too."

He let his head fall back into the pillow.

"So why didn't you tell me? Or, at least give me the keyblade in the first place so that I wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble."

Sei shook his head.

"It doesn't work that way. The keyblade would not have gone to you unless you had summoned it, unless you had proven that your heart had the strength worthy to wield it. The day you thought you had lost your keyblade to Sora, it hadn't ended with just that; you were still a keyblade bearer, no matter what it had seemed."

He inclined his head slightly to see Riku's reaction to this, than laughed.

"In any case, you got it in the end, right?"

Sei straightened and walked out towards the hall.

"Kairi made soup in the kitchen; when you're feeling better, come down and join us."

Riku nodded as the figure disappeared, then looked down at the dark keyblade he held in his hand.

Still a keybearer? He was surprised the thing had still considered him worthy of even touching it. But, perhaps this was the way he'd be able to atone for all his past wrongs. Perhaps this was the method that had been chosen for him to seek his absolution.

~I'll make it up to you Sora...Kairi...for all the terrible things I did

He close his eyes

~I promise

###

(Excerpts from the journal of Kairi, Princess of Heart and resident of the Destiny Island Archipelago):

Seed Moon

Third Day

9:00 PM

Sometimes, as I was sitting at home on the beach of the Destiny Islands, I began to feel a doubt about all our adventures.

Five years is a long time, you know? It's only natural for memories to fade, and it was hard for me to hang onto to what I knew to be the truth about Sora's and Riku's so-called "disappearance." It wasn't I could talk to anyone about it. I mean, who'd honestly believe my fairy-tales about princesses and key blades and keyholes, especially without any real evidence? They probably would have called me crazy, and told me to let go of those weird delusions. They would have told me that that I'd have to face reality, and that Sora and Riku were never coming back. To them, Sora and Riku were as good as dead.

But it would have been the absolute most horrible thing for me to do, letting go of that hope I knew existed. How could I just let go of the truth, when it was the only thing assuring me that my two best friends in the universe were still alive out there somewhere? Of course I wouldn't let it all go. But sometimes... it became very hard for me to remember, especially without anyone or anything in the world to tell me that I wasn't making it all up. Everything became faded: places, people, even Sora... in the beginning, I would get so frustrated with myself for forgetting even the littlest details about him. I had been afraid that I'd eventually lose him entirely.

So now that it seems that all those old troubles with the Heartless are surfacing again, I want to keep a journal of what's happening, here with Riku and Sei. I want to write down everything, so that someday I can look back on all this and say yes, this really happened; Traverse Town, the worlds, even the Heartless and the darkness...I don't want to blot out any part of my life.

After the whole mess in Traverse Town with the Heartless, we continued to work together to search for Sora. Interestingly enough, many of the worlds that we traveled to seemed to have had Sora as a visitor at one time or other. But when we asked them about this, everyone had the same answer for us:

"A strange kid with a giant key? Traveling with a dog and a duck? They haven't been seen around here in years."

But I'm not giving up. Sora's out there somewhere, and I'm going to find him.

One of the first worlds that we went to was an island literally in a sea in the sky. Its residents call it Never Land. The people who live there can be strange sometimes, but I'm glad that at least it was nothing close to the flat-out weirdness of Wonderland!

###

The glimmer had been spotted near the swing sets of the playground in Napple Park. Barely a day had passed since the incident with the Heartless and Riku receiving his keyblade, but the young man had insisted they he was well enough for them to start their next expedition to another world.

Sei was little help in Kairi's protest against Riku's intentions.

"It's a good idea, I think, for us to continue as soon as possible." Sei said slowly. "And I would have to agree with Riku in regards to his health; the time he has had to rest was probably more than enough to regain his energy. If he feels ready to begin, I'm sure he that he is."

Kairi argued but was finally forced to give in, but on the grounds that Riku promise not to push himself to hard if they were to come against any more battles with the Heartless.

Their eyes were met with a golden blaze of sun set above a perfect blue sky in their new world. It was one of those clear, fresh days, the ones in which the moment the clean air hit your skin you just had to smile-it just felt so good. Kairi breathed in deeply before looking around at their surroundings. She stood at the very edge of a wide field covered in high yellow grass. Behind her was an expanse of lush forest.

The light of day had its other effects too. Riku staggered forward as his foot hit a thick tree root, his vision considerably less clear than just a moment before. It was annoying, having such backwards sight; made things a lot more difficult than they had to be. A male voice spoke beside him.

"Need any help?"

Riku brushed away Sei's extended hand.

"I'm fine," he muttered. "I just need a moment for my eyes to adjust."

Sei seriously doubted that it was as simple as that, but left Riku alone, understanding that the blind young man wouldn't be admitting that any time soon.

They decided to take a path across the clearing and through the woods on the other side. In a wilderness such as this, there was really nothing that they could do except rely at first on guesswork and luck. They had barely taken a step from the end of the woods forest it happened. The distinct sound of twigs and rope snapping was what alerted the travelers. Kairi was the last to realize, only noticing when she saw Sei's eyes widening in surprise.

Riku swore softly under his breath, uttering their last words before the ground heaved up from beneath them, and they were suspended within a net hanging from the trees. Unfamiliar, childish voices shrieking in triumph from the ground level.

"Yeah, we caught 'em!"

Hands clapped against hands and feet stomped the ground in a victory dance.

"Woohooo!!!"

"Lost Boys rule!"

In the meantime, the trio was feeling considerably less comfortable. Kairi was squished against Sei's side and shoulder, and had Riku's elbow digging into her ribs.

"This is certainly pleasant...," she murmured.

She could feel the older boy wriggling beside her, groping for a knife in his pocket.

"I can't see how high up from the ground we are, so I suggest you both try to hold on to something when I cut through-"

Kairi grabbed a handful of cloth netting in both hands, as her did friends the same. The malleable bottom of the net abruptly dropped away, leaving her legs to swing freely in the air. Impulsively, she let go, and hit the earth on her bottom.

"Ouchie..." She hissed with a wince.

Riku and Sei had landed far more gracefully than she had, and she accepted Sei's help standing up when he offered it.

"Ouchie?" Sei questioned, humor in his voice.

Kairi glowered.

"Oh shut up."

All of the new arrivals were young boys of varying ages under twelve. The older ones watched the trio with suspicion, while some of the others had raised their eyes to look at the ripped net remorsefully.

"Awww, you ruined our Indian-trap," a boy in a raccoon costume muttered with a scowl.

His twin frowned at them accusingly.

"Don't you know better than to get caught in traps for other people? It isn't very considerate."

A fox-suited boy nodded in agreement.

"Now we have to make a new one, and that one took *ages*" he whined.

Riku lip curled slightly on one side while Kairi grinned, hiding her smile behind one hand. Sei was holding back silent laughter.

Obviously, these children took themselves very seriously.

Slightly (fox-suit) considered the older foreigners with a wary look.

"So. Who are you guys anyway?"

###

The Lost Boys didn't seem to have much interest in otherworlds or anything like that when we explained who were, but they were happy enough to take us to the leader Peter Pan when Riku inquired about him. One of the boys asked me if I had come to be their new mother(?!?) They said that the girl Wendy had been their old mother, but she had left Never Land many years ago to "grow-up."

Peter Pan turned out to be a cocky twelve-year old boy dressed in green who obviously thought the world of himself. A delicate blond pixie named Tinker Bell was his companion, a lady with as much conceited arrogance as her partner, if in her own fey-ish sort of way.

Peter knew the most about Sora, having allied himself with him to save Wendy from the pirate Captain Hook. However, he hadn't heard from Sora or of the Heartless since the locking of the keyhole at London's clock tower. On another note, Captain Hook still roamed the surrounding waters with his crew, although Peter didn't look too concerned about that.

Riku seemed to have a way with the kids too, although it wasn't something that he had been actively trying at. I guess this has something to with the way everyone had always looked up to him back at the Destiny Islands. There had always been a strength and self-assurance to him that had not been taken away, even by these past several years. He couldn't stand aloof from these rowdy, fun loving kids and their requests for him to join in their play for very long. Sei played with them too. Those Lost Boys were completely wild (just like the animals they dressed up as,) but I think it did both Riku and Sei a lot of good just to hang loose, let go of their tensions, and have a bit of fun.

But more than that, for Riku at least, I think all of this was helping him to remember something of our old lives, before the Heartless, when we were young without any real concerns for the world. Maybe that's the kind of effect this island has on people-I began to feel at ease almost at once, like our problems would finally come to and end and maybe everything would turn out okay.

###

The hidden base of Lost Boy activity was located not too far from the field. Their home had been built into and underneath a hollow dead tree, where cleverly concealed openings led into their various underground living quarters. Peter Pan had perched himself at the top, playing a set of reed pipes while below his followers occupied themselves with a game of tag. Kairi sat on lower tree-branch, cheering the boys on from the sidelines. The odds were currently stacked against the two oldest boys though.

Riku (currently "it") pretended to become annoyed as a pudgy, bearskin dressed boy floated out of reach.

"That's not fair!" He protested, making a half-hearted swipe at him.

"Why not?" Cubby did a clumsy flip in the air to turn back towards Riku. "No one said anything about rules against flying."

Slightly swooped down from the sky in a dive.

"Riku can't fly, remember?" He feigned some backstrokes in the air as he glided past Riku, sticking his tongue out at the youth when Riku made a grab at him.

"Nyah, nyah, can't catch me."

Behind Kairi, Sei climbed the branches of the tree towards the top where Peter Pan and Tinker Bell were sitting.

"How are you guys flying anyway?" Kairi asked.

"Pixie dust...and belief, I'd imagine."

Sei rested his arms on the second to uppermost branches, looking at Tinker Bell who was watching back with prim superiority. "Isn't that right, Miss?"

She said something in her fey tongue, and Peter Pan laughed at her words.

"Oh come on, Tink; Let's be nice, okay? Show them how we really have fun here in Never Land!"

Tinker Bell made as if thinking it over, before fluttering up into the air and sprinkling Sei with her golden dust. Next to follow was Kairi, then Riku. Sei jumped from the branch he was perched on. His body dipped down unsteadily for a few moments, but he soon could hold himself firmly in the air. Kairi clapped and the Lost Boys cheered enthusiastically.

"See?" Peter Pan flew beside Sei. "That wasn't hard at all."

Cubby looked away from Sei towards Riku on the ground. It wasn't hard to imagine the gleam of mischief enter Riku's eyes. He gulped.

"Uh, oh-"

Riku lunged towards him with a laugh.

"You won't be getting away from me this time!"

The remaining lost boys shot after them up into the air, leaving Kairi the last one on the ground. They called down to him in encouragement.

"Come on Kairi!"

"Yah, have some fun with us Kairi!"

Watching them all, she remembered the stories that Sora had told her of his own adventures in Never Land, and his first experience with flying. They had been sitting outside, beside the fountain in Third District underneath the night sky. This had only been just after she had been rescued from Hallow Bastion.

~You should have seen me Kairi-it was so amazing! It was as if nothing would ever be able to hold me down again! But I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me.

His smiled turned childishly sheepish.

~It does seem a little hard to believe, doesn't it? But I promise I'll take you there someday, and we can both fly together!

Kairi sighed wistfully at the memory as she floated towards the sky.

###

We were taken on a tour of the island before we left. It was wonderful, just flying above the trees and taking in the sites of the woods and jungles, waterfalls and ocean lying before us. I don't think I'll ever forget that experience of flying.

And then we came upon the pirates. Peter wanted to go down and have a bit of fun bothering them, but Riku made it clear that for the rest of us (him, me, and Sei), it'd be preferred that we avoid too much in trouble. In the end, he didn't have much choice in the matter-the pirates began firing cannonballs at us as soon as we were spotted. Peter seemed to have a lot of fun then, jeering and shouting at the pirates as their missiles shot harmlessly past us.

Later, after stopping at the Indian encampment, Peter took us down to the lagoons and beaches on the other side of the island for swimming.

Poor Sei tanned so quickly-and then got sunburned. He ended up having to sit out the rest of the day in the shade, but he took it all in good nature. I went over to sit with and watch the sunset from beneath the palm trees.

Sei told me about the very nature of this world: he said that it was called Never Land, because it was a world that would never change. The innocence of childhood was forever preserved, as well as the ideals of the straight-cut black and white world: good is good and bad is bad, with nothing to complicate things any further.

I asked him what he thought about all that.

"Does this ideal hold true with the real world? Is there a clearly identified evil and darkness, as well as light and goodness?"

I hadn't really known what to expect from his answer, and was really only joking around. But he replied very seriously.

"I can't say for sure, though I might have claimed to be able once." He answered. There had been a shadow in his amber eyes as he stared across the sand and water.

"There is still so much of the world that we don't know. There is still so much we don't understand."

I guess that all makes sense, but I keep having this feeling that there's more to it than what he's saying. I questioned him on that, but he slithered out of answering it. I hate it when he gets all enigmatic like that.

Seed Moon

Sixth Day

8:15 PM

Halloween Town had been another of the worlds, one that had definitely not been one of my favorites. That place just has this spooky atmosphere that I can't handle, from the harsh design of the buildings, to the eerie black and purple sky, to even the people themselves. Don't get me wrong; a lot of them are nice, like Sora's old friends Jack Skellington and Sally but let's face it-everything anyone does around here is based on the theme of fear.

I'd have to say, though, that my favorite part about the whole thing would have been dressing up so that we could blend in with all the locals without drawing too much attention. It turns out that Halloween is actually a theme for a holiday celebrated on many worlds, and one the major elements of it is dressing in dark costumes. I guess I might have enjoyed doing that a little *too* much...even Riku commented on the sensibility of spending so much time on an outfit I probably was only going to wear once. On the other hand, I thing Riku could have cared less about the entire masquerade.

Hmph, at least Sei seemed to enjoy it; I helped him with his costume and he went as a vampire. He teased Riku, saying that he should have fun with the project for what it was worth.

Seed Moon

Twentieth Day

8:01 AM

We'd arrive in another world just in time for a wedding between a young princess named Ariel and a prince named Eric. Ariel turned out to be another of Sora's allies and had been, until recently, a noble-born mermaid from the underwater kingdom of Atlantica. She was now human, and the story leading up to that unusual transformation had been an interesting one:

Ariel had rescued the prince from drowning at sea and had fallen in love with him. However, any relationships between a human and a mermaid were strictly forbidden, and the magnitude of Ariel's crime was heightened when in consideration of her status and her overly protective father.

But in a fit of teenage rebellion, she had attempted to undermine her father's wishes when she found some spells that would change her human for limited periods of time. At night, she'd secretly meet Eric under the pretenses of being a human as well. Yet secrets like these don't tend to stay secret for long; her father had wanted to find out where she kept disappearing to, and so had Eric. Things would eventually work out though for all of them though.

The wedding itself had been quite lovely. The two royals got married on a ship at sea, with humans on deck and mer-people watching from the waves (and this was not to mention the animals). The ceremony was ended with a rainbow cast from the mer-king's triton over the ship. A little clichéd for my tastes, but I guess it was all right for those who like that sort of thing.

Then after that was Agrabah. Apparently its inhabitants have a lot more to worry about than just the Heartless, though those were a problem as well. Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, Abu, and Carpet were now joined by someone else in their crusade against evil-the loudmouthed parrot named Iago, formerly a flunky serving the villain Jafar. They said he had reformed since that little incident, but Riku muttered that despite being rehabilitated, the bird was still as annoying as ever.

They group asked us to help them fight against a sorcerer from the Deserts of the Black Sands who wished to conquer Agrabah. The man was surprise when we actually came face-to-face with him; he was younger than I'd thought he'd be (probably about Aladdin's age) with pale skin, longish black hair, and an expensive looking costume. Yet there was cruelty in his eyes and his smooth language, and you could tell from the start that this guy was trouble. Like Jafar, he'd meddled in the affairs of the Heartless, seeking to use their power for his own ends.

Our latest exploits took place on the world of the Olympus Coliseum. Another tournament had been in progress, drawing people from all over the world: humans, both male and female, in every kind of armor or weapon you could ever imagine, as well as demi-gods and demi-humans...truly the occasion had called out a large and diverse crowd to the coliseum. We had agreed that if any news were there to be found, this would have been the place to search.

Philoctetes, the satyr running the tournament, had remembered Sora, but had also admitted it being ages since they last met. The demi-god Hercules also remembered Sora, though he knew about as much about Sora's recent activities as Phil. Besides those two, we had met some of Hercules' other friends, including his girlfriend Megara, and his two old friends from his teen years that had stopped by to see how he was doing. One was an eccentric inventor by the name of Icarus. The other was a seer named Cassandra. And of course there was also the collection of local gods that had come to oversee the tournament. None of them, however, could offer any new information about Sora.

So that's how things have been going these past couple of weeks. We're taking a breather from all this world hopping and I'll write down later if anything else happens.

###

It was a cool, breezy afternoon in Traverse Town. Thick clouds drifted overhead, possibly predicting rain later that day or night. Riku was drilling himself on various sword exercises in the yard, while Kairi watched him from the back porch. After running through the basic cuts, combinations and drills, and then some of the more complicated forms, Riku stopped to take a break. He took the seat next to Kairi and poured himself lemonade from the pitcher.

"You've improved a lot since I last watched you." Kairi complimented as he took a sip of the tangy liquid.

"Thanks."

"Sei fights pretty well too," She added, recalling all their recent battles. Riku nodded in agreement, but he also seemed uneasy about something.

"There's something about his style that's familiar. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

Kairi looked back at him, trying to figure out the expression on his face.

"That's weird."

She toyed with her glass.

"Well, actually, there are a lot of things about him that are weird. I sense something about him, but I can't tell what it is."

"You too?" Riku smiled dryly. "So it's not just me being overly-suspicious."

Kairi shook her head, causing her hat to flop about.

"I don't think so."

She set down her glass to readjust the hat.

"The problem is, Sei is so secretive. He doesn't talk about himself much, if at all, and is quite impossible to pin down-which has gotten really annoying- but he's helped us this far."

She pursed her lips slightly but then her face cleared.

"I trust him, though. I think he really is a good person. Maybe, eventually, he'll trust us enough to tell us what it is he's hiding."

Her silver-haired companion snorted-as if that was happening anytime soon.

"He's at that library, isn't he?" Kairi asked. "The one started by that wizard Merlin?"

"Yes. He seems to like to go there a lot doesn't he?" Riku commented.

"I'd like to see it myself sometime," Kairi admitted. "I've heard that Merlin's collected books from all the worlds for his library. Actually, you know what? I'll check it out right now. It'd be nice, to just spend a couple of hours relaxing with some good books. You want to come with me?"

Riku shook his head with a smile.

"No thanks. Hope you have fun."

Kairi waved as she went inside.

"You too."

The library was located on the other side of Third District, but she didn't mind the walk. It was nice, anyway, for her to just wander along the busy road, watching people doing their daily things and living out their lives. Most people who came here to Traverse Town were those who hadn't found a place to fit in their own world, or were running away from a past that still haunted them. But looking at it all now, that could be hard to believe.

The crossroads, the place where angels who have lost their way are drawn. She wondered at the lives these people might have once led, and what memories lay hidden from the rest of the world.

She could see the library up ahead, and crossed the street to ascend its white stairs.

It was rumored that people had gotten lost within the maze of shelves of Merlin's library for hours at a time. Kairi questioned the truth in those words, but there was no doubt that the library was massive. Shelf after shelf of books stood in lines against the walls and through the rooms, displaying their volumes for the people. She eyed the color-coded map on the wall, wondering what area she wanted to peruse through first. Finally, she determined to explore the section marked for its books about other worlds, located on the second level.

Few people were in the building that day. She spotted Sei immediately as she passed the aisle he was standing in. His head was bent over a book and he was wearing headphones connected to a CD-player hooked onto his jean pocket. He didn't noticed Kairi until she was almost upon him.

"Spirit Guardians of China," She read from the top of the page. Sei clicked a button on the CD-player and pulled off the headphones.

"Sounds interesting."

"It is," Sei replied simply.

Kairi hooked her hands behind her back, looking around them.

"It's almost hard to imagine how many books could be kept within these walls. Amazing really." She turned back towards Sei with curiosity in her face. "I guess you like to read a lot, since you've been here so many times."

Sei watched her with an inscrutable expression.

"Reading...has always been a favored pastime of mine."

He shut the book and replaced it back onto the shelf.

"You're surrounded by so many ideas and words and knowledge when you're in a place such as this. I've always craved to know things, to understand everything. I could never stand to live in ignorance of anything; it always gnawed at me until I thought I had found all the answers."

"Perhaps...that is my greatest weakness." His last words were quiet, and spoken mostly to himself.

Silence. Kairi did not know what to say to all this.

"Do you want to listen to this?"

She nearly jumped at the abrupt change of subject.

"What?"

Sei had unhooked his CD-player and offered it to Kairi.

"There's no name on the CD. I only just found it today at a used store; they didn't know who it was by, or what if was for, and even where the silly thing had come from, but the music on it was nice so I got it. I think maybe you'll enjoy it too."

Kairi took the object, and slipped on the headphones. Sei clicked the "play" bottom for her.

The first song was sweet and beautiful with the melody played on a piano. It spoke of innocence and dreams and had a wonderful surreal feel to it. She found herself wistfully thinking of Sora, the untouched purity before the Heartless had come.

The second one began with the sounds of a harp, chimes, and bells, accompanied by various flute and horn instruments. Unlike the first one, this piece had an orchestrated feel to it. A prickle grew along her spine, and with it an odd sense of familiarity for its feel, although she'd swear she had never heard the song before.

After a few minutes, the song faded away after a dramatic climax. Kairi waited for the next melody to begin and reached for another book on the shelf.

When she was in the middle of reading about the ancient history of Atlantis, she got the feeling that someone's eyes were boring into her. She looked around, but saw no one except herself and Sei. Then she glanced up and noticed the small brown owl staring down at them.

"That's Merlin's pet, Archimedes." Sei told her, noticing the owl as well. To her surprise, he added in mock whisper, "The," he coughed, "self-proclaimed 'highly educated owl'."

The owl eyed him with undisguised distaste. Clearly he had heard and understood every word.

"Insolent ruffian."

Sei was unperturbed by the comment uttered from its beak.

"Nosy, rat-eating feather duster."

Archimedes rolled his eyes, a gesture that said he didn't need to take any more of this abuse. With a light flapping of wings, the owl had left.

"Probably back to its master." Sei noted without remorse.

"Merlin's a peculiar old man, but not someone to be underestimated. Maybe you'll meet him sometime."

Kairi shrugged. "I think I might have, once, the first time I was at Traverse Town."

The conversation drifted to a close, and again the two submerged themselves in the sea of books that surrounded them.

They returned to the house in the early evening, to find Riku making dinner in the kitchen. A pot of spaghetti was boiling on the stove, while he was chopping mushrooms and vegetables for the tomato sauce.

Kairi dropped her bag onto the kitchen table.

"Need any help?"

Riku gestured vaguely off to towards the oven, without bothering to turn around or drop his knife

"If you could check the breadsticks, that'd be helpful."

Sei inhaled deeply as he entered the room.

"Smells delicious in here."

Riku laughed. "Thanks. It's certainly a more welcome scent to come home to than canned soup."

Sei snagged a breadstick from off the tray as Kairi put it out on the table. "There's nothing wrong with canned soup."

Riku, Kairi, and Sei took turns cooking meals whenever they were in Traverse Town. Kairi usually prepared island-style foods, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Riku had a hand with a variety of dishes derived from different worlds, such as the spaghetti that he was cooking that day.
Sei, on the other hand, seemed limited in his culinary skills to canned soup and instant noodle. And bread. As Riku would say, at least there was always fresh bread with Sei.

They went for a walk in Napple Park after dinner, a relaxing way to end the day before they were forced to set out on their next adventure. Riku spent some time messing around with some kids playing near the duck pond, leaving Kairi and Sei in a grassy field to talk and admire the stars beginning to appear in the darkening sky.

They had been to so many worlds, had so many adventures and met so many people. At one time, Kairi might have found all this so exciting, and she guessed she still did.

But one thing still weighed heavily in her mind, taking away from that pleasure.

"There are so many worlds that we haven't been to yet. I wonder if we'll have to go to them all before even finding a trace of Sora." Kairi murmured sadly.

She didn't add the fear that was creeping inside her mind-

~Was Sora even still *alive*?!? Somehow, the possibility seemed to grow more and more likely as time passed without them having found him, or even a trace of him...

"No!" She suddenly said aloud. "I can't think like that! I'm a Princess of Heart; I can't lose hope!"

The words had been directed towards herself but evidently Sei had heard them too. Kairi bit her lip, ashamed of her outburst. He looked at her sideways, a kind of long, intense look that she had never seen on him before. He abruptly turned his face away.

"Sei?"

Silence; she could hear the sounds of the singing insects in the grass, the laughter of Riku and the kids, and the splash of rocks as they sunk into the water.

"Kairi-"

His voice came out a little strange and he stopped. When he tried again, his voice came out a little stronger.

"Don't worry Kairi. We'll find him. I promise, no matter how long it takes, I'll always be here to help you find him!"

He stood up. His back was to her, but she could see him wiping at something on his face.

"Wait!"

Kairi pushed herself up onto her feet before Sei had taken as much as a step, and caught at his sleeve.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

She didn't wait for an answer before pressing on quickly.

"We're friends, right? I want to know if anything is wrong; I want to know, because we-Riku and me-we can't help you if you won't tell us anything. You can trust me, okay? I mean, now that we've gone through so much, and-"

She was babbling almost incoherently, and she knew it.

"It's okay Kairi." Sei interrupted. He had twisted around so that he was facing her, his hands on her shoulders. "I know I can trust you."

He let go and began walking past her.

"Sei..."

Movement at the edge of her vision caused her to turn her head. Riku had been watching them, but she didn't know for how long. He had very peculiar expression on his face.

"What is it?" Kairi asked, not really caring.

"Nothing." He still wore that expression as he spoke.

"It's... getting late. Ready to call it a day?"

She gazed unseeingly at the spot that Sei had been standing at. "I guess."

She wouldn't give up on them.

Neither Sora...

...or Sei. She'd never give up on her friends.

Her eyes closed and she took a deep, steadying breath.

"Okay. Let's go."

Riku and Kairi walked back to the house together in silence, neither feeling much in the mood of speaking. Sei had left without them. Once they got back, Kairi announced that she was tired and was going to go to bed early. Watching her, Riku could tell that she really was exhausted, but more from other reasons that she wouldn't admit. Sora, the Heartless, the worlds...and of course that damned Sei and his stupid secretiveness...he had a sudden desire to shake the blonde youth, and probably would have if the young man had been present. Where was he anyway? Riku ran a hand through his unruly locks in a gesture or frustration and weariness. His fingers brushed against the silky smooth cloth of his blindfold, and her jerked his hand away. Eyes of a Heartless...he supposed this was his punishment for having so easily succumbed to the darkness. If anyone deserved them it was him for having been such a selfish twit those five years ago.

He strode outside, feeling relief as the cold air hit his skin. The gravel path barely crunched beneath his feet as he walked out into the yard, reveling in the soothing smell of the plants and the earth. A faint light caught his attention, and he looked up towards the roof of their house to find that Sei was lying on the roof, staring at the sky. In the darkness of the night, Riku could clearly make out the features of the young man.

Sei's window overlooked an almost level of roofing over their house; it was as easy enough task to climb out onto it without sliding off to the ground level. He was singing softly to himself, something he tended to do when he was trying not to think about something. Riku couldn't hear his words, which was probably just as well.

"Like the perfect ending, it won't be too long...'till everything I've ruined has seen me gone...in time I pray you'll forgive...now you know the man I am...will you forgive me?" Sei broke off after that verse, wondering at music's ability to capture emotion so well.

It was only a distraction, really. In the meantime, less pleasant thoughts were attempting to push their way to the forefront of his mind. They reminded him of the many things that were not right with the world at that moment, of all the secrets he was keeping from his two companions. But it was better that they did not know; they'd hate him if they did. Heh, for that matter, it was sometimes too easy for him to hate himself.

Unaware of Sei's thoughts, Riku was about to reenter the house when something white and shining fluttered to the ground, disappearing in a fade of white light when it touched the earth. He paused, trying to make sense of it.

A white feather?

He glanced up at the roof, but Sei was already gone.

###

A/N:

For a brief disclaimer, the song at the end with Sei is actually from the Cowboy Bebop CD "Knocking on Heaven's Door" called "No Reply". Also, that CD they were listening to in the library isn't mine either—I hope you can guess what it is. ^.~