Before anyone says it, I know I missed the Oni-Ansem talk at the end of last chapter. I couldn't write up anything up on them yet; I want you guys to figure it out. ^_^ I may not write up on them until the wrap-up chapters at the very end. But if I forget then, feel free to yell at me in a review...

Also, if anyone reading this plays FFVII, I have a new story for that wonderful game called 'Major Seventh'. Check it out!

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Reviewers: Maji (Er, I know some Japanese, but most I get from the East Of Sanity's glossary- eastofsanity.com/glossary. Best glossary I've EVER found! But EoS is intensely yaoi, so you might want to think about tapanime.com's glossary instead if ya don't like nosebleeds. ^_^;; And Leon, it's fine! And better than my muse Jo- she's a Sora and Riku shounen-ai fanatic. ^_^ And I believe you about how many errs there were- I made about seven just answering you. I wonder how Leon would react to being called Lean... ^_^) soraoathkeeper (Good for you, SOK-dono! Atashi ga very happy, too! ^_^)

Warnings: Er... None that I can think of right now... wait, more of my (Decidedly odd) humor. And clumsy attempts at portraying characters I have no idea how to write. ^_^ Oh, and what is the beginning of a romance between someone and someone else, and may eventually turn into a triangle, but I don't know who the third person might be...

Disclaimer: You should know who and what I own and don't own by now.

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Experimental

Kurayami: Part Nine

Endless Starry Sky



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~~~~~ Bastion

Lani didn't like how all her best friends were leaving.

She hid it well; She learned how to hide her feelings behind a laughing mask from Neko. But she also learned that sometimes you have to let off a little out, or you'll really hurt. Lani couldn't count the times she found Takeo crying where he thought no one would find him, and would wrap her short arms around his neck and just be there for him.

One day, sneaking some of the cookies from the kitchen, Lani heard Mom and Dad talking about Takeo and Sephiroth. Dad was a little upset, his blue eyes glowing a little more than normal, his quiet voice a little louder.

"Aerith, he's always hanging around Sephiroth! You especially know what Sephiroth can do. I don't want Takeo or Neko getting hurt..."

Mom shook her head at Dad, looking up at him. "Hush, love, you know why Sephiroth did what he did. He's very different now, he really is. And I think Takeo is really helping Sephiroth get over his past, in a way. Remember how, when we first returned, he would always be in either the library or his room? Now he's much more outwards, and open, and talks to people who aren't immensely prejudiced towards him."

"But... He SHOULDN'T be talking to people! He's-"

"CLOUD!" Mom glared at Dad, hands on her hips. "He had a very painful childhood, and found connection with another one of Ansem's victims! Just because he nearly killed me once doesn't mean he's always evil and twisted! He's finally almost happy, with Takeo's help, so stop being a... a prejudiced MORON!" Mom's eye twitches.

Lani was between laughing at the look on Dad's face, and running from Mom's outburst, but instead hid behind a counter and quietly at her cookies until they left the room.

But that has almost nothing to do with Takeo and Neko leaving. Except... ::Wait...Maybe?::

Lani runs trough the halls, her golden-brown hair trailing behind her, skidding to a halt in front of a set of rooms. She raises a hand to knock on the dark door, and her knuckles strike the wood gently.

After a moment, the door opens.

Sephiroth blinks down at Lani.

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~~~~~ Belgariad

"Hey, Neko, could you hold her for a moment?"

Neko nods, wrapping her arms more firmly around Dark Magician Girl as Silk gently drops the Duel Monster's legs. Pushing one of the large doors of the Citadel open a crack, Silk waves his hand at someone inside.

"Hoy, you there, go tell Lady Polgara I have a wounded young lady with me!"

Neko hears a muffled 'Yes, your highness, immediately, your highness!' as Silk looks back at her. She smiles brightly, then looks avidly around, violet eyes wide. "This is amazing! It's not on the scale of floating platforms and water you can walk on, but it's really a strategic miracle! The only strategic advantage to where I grew up was the inability to move around unless you practically grew up there. And even then it's pretty hard, sometimes it takes ten minutes to get a hundred yards, or you forget which bubble will take you forward, or how to open up the library... of course, you can always walk on top of the bookshelves, but once Takeo fell off them, and then he was out for a day..."

"Er..."

Silk was saved from trying to respond to that information overload by the doors being swung the rest of the way open, and a tall, beautiful woman with raven-wing locks... GAH!!! MARY SUE!!! DELETE LAST LINE!!!

Er, sorry... Let's try describing Polgara-sama again...

Sweeping down the stairs is a tall, majestic woman with very dark hair, except for a single white streak over her left temple. Her fiery grey eyes glare at Silk.

"Silk, I expected you to stay out of trouble! What'll Velvet think?" She sweeps past him, eyes softening as she sees a young girl with the strangest hair supporting another, older girl. "I don't want to know what happened right now, Silk. I'm in a good mood. Help her carry the young lady up to my rooms."

Silk nods, smiling in a mischievous manner. "Oh, but Polgara, how could you imply I was being anything unhonorable? Why, I'm shocked!" After a pause, during which he helps Neko pick up the blond-haired Duel Monster, he says much more seriously, "but I really wasn't doing anything you would disapprove of. I went out into the country because I heard that there was another rising of Bear Cultists and ran into Neko here-"

Polgara smiles at Neko, cutting Silk off. "Hello, I'm Polgara. Why don't you tell me what happened, or Silk will be talking all day."

Neko beams at the woman. "Well, as Silk-san said, he found me wandering around in the middle of nowhere, and brought me back to this city. We were heading here, when I felt something, and found Dark Magician Girl here in an ally. And then we came here. So, my name is Neko. And you are Polgara?..."

Nodding, Polgara pushes the door to her predominately blue rooms. "Come on in, put the young lady on the bed."

Neko watches curiously as Polgara bustles about, gathering up what appears to be a medical kit.

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*Voice... Am I really nothing more than that to her? A voice, floating around in her head?* Miru's sad musings float through nowhere as a test runs, the alter-Neko triumphing over evil and saving the universe. Absently noting down how it happened, he runs another test, this time the alter-Neko failing, and darkness enveloping the worlds. *I wish she didn't see me like that... I wish I wasn't just a voice.*

He memorizes the results again, and again tests it, but this time with things coming in right- The darkness there, but also the light, in perfect balance. It had never happened before, and most likely never will, but that's what they are aiming for.

*I wish I could really help her, not float around here all day, running tests and giving advice. USELESS advice- I can't measure the time there, I can only test the advice against what's happening, against surface thoughts.*

*Voice...*

Miru begins another test, but stops it in the middle. *LP?*

^Hmm? Are you calling me, Miru?^

*Yes... Remember back when I ran those tests for you, the ones you couldn't do? I'm calling in that favor.*

^Oh? What could I do?^ the spirit of the Light Prophesy inquires.

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~~~~~ Destiny Island

"Anzu..."

Jumping down from the tree, wings spread to slow her fall, Anzu ignores Nami in favor of running down the beach towards the cove. She folds her wings in, rushing through the flimsy driftwood door.

Nami also jumps, but towards the low tunnel that exits by the star tree. Calmly walking through, she sees Anzu rushing towards Kairi. Marjani looks up at Nami, nods.

Nami nods back, skipping lightly over the Star Palms, then dropping to the ground.

"Kairi, doushita n da?! Why is there a meteor shower?! How-" Anzu stops, seeing how Kairi's hands are shaking. "D-daijoubu ka?"

"No..." Kairi shakes her head. "No. I'm not alright. It's- It's a METEOR shower, Anzu. The Heartless..."

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"The Heartless..." Oni stops, gasps in pain, doubling over.

Ansem leaps to his feet. "RSSK?! What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Oni looks up, sadly blue eyes shading into glowing liquid topaz. "Daijoubu, Ansem-sama. I'm fine." Absently, he reaches into his pocket and draws out a long, dark piece of cloth, edged in silver stitching, and wraps it across his eyes. "Now, what was ore saying?"

A little shiver goes up Ansem's spine at the total void of emotion filling Oni's voice. Before, it had been a little sad, a little afraid, but now... Nothing.

Ansem ignores it, though. "You were beginning to say something about Heartless."

"I was. Well-"

Once again, Oni's report is interrupted.

"Ansem?"

Ansem turns, a vague feeling of deja-vu tickling his mind as he looks at the slender, colorless young man behind him.

The teen smiles morosely, bowing, tarnished silver hair falling across his white face. "Hello. My name is Shiru."

TBC

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Doushita n da: What's wrong? What happened?

Daijoubu ka?: Are/is he/she/you/it alright?

Daijoubu: As a statement, "I/he/she/it am/is alright." Literally "safe, secure."

Ore: A very rough way of saying 'I', could be considered rude. Sephiroth and Cloud happen to use this, in Japanese. It's very odd for a girl to use it, although some do.

Ending Notes: Lessee... I think Shiru is the last ENE guide we're gonna meet! All the consistent characters have been introduced, the kids are all ready to set off on great adventure, we're ready for everything else. Hoorah! Now, when can I get to those great ideas that I've had since forever?... ^_^

Well, since I'm not doing Ansem and Oni yet, I'll answer a question from a review forever ago...

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I remember soraoathkeeper-dono asking me about the 'half/full-brother' thing forever ago. Well, to put it simply, Neko and Takeo only share Riku's genes, but they are both approximately half-Riku- But Takeo doesn't have any Kairi DNA, and Neko doesn't have any Sora in her. It's about the same for Anzu, she's half Sora, half Kairi, but not a drop of Riku. So those three are considered half-siblings. But Oni has Riku, Sora, AND Kairi DNA, as shown by his much-shortened code, (5-RSSK) so he shares genes with all the combos. So he's in a way fully related to them all, instead of only half-related- If that makes any sense.

Now, review, and if anyone has a question for me to answer next chapter, fire away! ^_^ Ja~!

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