Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is owned by......... well, it ain't owned by me, so don't try to think I'm taking the credit, 'cause I'm not.

Chapter Four: Traverse Town

"Sora? Sora, wake up! Where are we?"

Sora groaned and opened his eyes. An auburn-haired girl slowly came into focus, a worried expression adorning her face. The background slid into view next, causing Sora to come fully awake.

They weren't on Destiny Islands anymore.

A small white thing looking much like a teddy bear with a red ball atop a long antenna waddled into view. "What is that?"

The small – animal? – turned to him and growled in a high-pitched voice, "Excuse me, kupo! You'd better not be talking about me! I'm a Moogle!"

Sora couldn't even respond he was so shocked. Kairi took up where he left off. "Pardon him, he didn't mean to offend you. I'm Kairi. Could you tell us where we are?"

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Sora only paid partial attention to the conversation. They were apparently in some drear town, in a back alley behind some wooden crates. Street lamps shone brightly in the broad pavement outside but did little to light their location.

"You're in Traverse Town, kupo!"

Sora exchanged a puzzled look with Kairi. She smiled and started to say something, but the Moogle seemed more interested in Sora. Or rather, the something in his hand.

"That's the Keyblade! How did you get it? Is it the real one?" He was so excited he forgot to add his trademark "kupo!"

Sora glanced down to see the same giant key clutched in his palm. He could feel its weight now that he noticed it, but it had seemed oddly weightless a moment ago.

He shrugged. "I guess it's real."

The Moogle gave an excited squeal and raced from the alley. Sora turned a questioning frown on Kairi, who gave a helpless laugh in response.

"Let's find out more about this place, Sora," she suggested.

They emerged from the alleyway into the courtyard. Steps led up to the next tier, containing what looked like shops. People stood shadowed under buildings and in corners; only children and the occasional hasty passerby ghosted beneath the lamplights.

"I don't think I like it here, Sora."

Sora turned to her, guilt burdening him. It was his fault she was here... "Kairi, look out!"

From her shadow cast long by the light of the overhead street lamp came a creature birthed from the black depths of her shadow. With eyes glowing like embers and claws looking too substantial to be shadow, it leapt with a grace belying its hideous appearance.

Sora reacted more than he acted. His left hand snatched Kairi's arm and pulled her protectively behind him while his right hand whipped forward with the Keyblade, brandishing the weapon like a sword. Except without any real skill with a blade, the weapon acted more like a barrier between the shadow-spawn and the two youths.

The creature bore down on Sora from above; the chocolate-haired youth swinging his weapon to fend off the attack. But in midair, the shadow being twisted impossibly, evading Sora's attack and landing just out of the Keyblade's reach.

"Dodge this!" came a masculine voice from behind Sora. Something - with such heat it would have scorched Sora had it not been moving with the speed of a comet - passed through the gap between his' and Kairi's head and collided into the shadow creature, exploding upon impact. The fireball caught the creature and reduced it to a smoldering pile of ashes that quickly faded back into the shadows it had emerged from.

Sora turned to face their savior. Wearing black pants crisscrossed with belts and a sleeveless white shirt beneath a black jacket, a man with the same colored hair as Sora and a scar across his nose stood with a strange sword – its handle was shaped like a gun – and a hand on his hip.

"They'll come at you out of nowhere," he stated, his cold eyes never leaving Sora's.

"Who are you?"

"And they'll keep coming at you, as long as you wield the Keyblade. Now, give it to me."

All thoughts of thanking his rescuer died in his throat. "What? There's no way you're getting this!"

Kairi made a whimpering sound in the back of her throat. Neither Sora nor the stranger took heed of her.

"All right, then have it your way." Without any further warning, he jumped impossibly high into the air and landed with his back to Sora, then spun around with his Gunblade aimed at Sora's legs.

Sora attempted to hop backwards and out of his attackers way, but forgot about Kairi. Instead, he tangled their legs and both of them collapsed in a heap on the paved road. Shaking his head, he found the tip of the Gunblade against his throat.

It hadn't occurred to him until now that he might die.

"That's enough, Leon!" called a familiar voice from behind the wielder of the Gunblade. Sora forgot about the blade in his attempt to try and figure out where he'd heard that voice...

Leon stepped back and Sora got a clear view of his new rescuer. Any words he might have said locked in his throat, along with the reminder to breathe. Approaching him and Kairi was a boy a little older than Sora, with strong sea-green eyes and platinum hair. They boy who had haunted Sora's dreams since the day Kairi arrived.

Sora used the hilt of the Keyblade to smack himself – hard – in the head, certain he'd wake up.

But the boy stood over him, quirking a perfect arched eyebrow. "I'm Riku," he told Sora, his eyes sweeping over the boy and his female companion. That gaze seemed to see past Sora's clothes, beyond his flesh, into his very being. He shuddered.

"This is Sora," Kairi introduced him, "and my name's Kairi." Riku nodded, not a touch of emotion showing on his face.

Sora pushed himself to his feet with a blush. Why am I blushing? "We don't know where we are," he explained.

Leon shook his head. "Come on, Riku. Let's take them back to the hotel. And then we'll give them answers."

"Sora," said Riku, "you can stay with Leon and I. Kairi will stay in the girls' room."

The spiky-haired youth just nodded his head and hefted the Keyblade onto his shoulder. Kairi giggled. "Shall we?"

They proceeded to the second district of Traverse Town. Sora couldn't shake the feeling of Riku's eyes on his back as he followed Leon to the hotel.

(A/N: Now that Riku's finally in the story I hope I'll get more readers, LoL! I have some very interesting things planned for the two boys, and it all starts next chapter! Please review if you liked!)

Preview of Chapter 5:

.........Riku neared Sora and felt gratified to see the boy swallow audibly. I never thought I'd be teasing the Keyblade Master. "I offer my companionship," (he enjoyed the reaction his word choice wrought in the boy standing before him) "in the battle against the Heartless.........

1. Thank you to my reviewers so far, I updated for those of you who requested it. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you continue to enjoy my story.

2. A thing of note: my fan-fiction was obviously an attempt to mimic the first part of the game and to take off in an entirely different direction. I apologize to those reviewers who thought I was copying, I did not intend to simply re-write the game experience (I would have thought this would be obvious by the yaoi).

3. Thank you to those who read beyond the introduction to grasp the full story concept. If you have any suggestions/improvements I am open to all. Should I put a similar notice at the beginning of my story or simply erase the dream that so-closely follows the storyline? While I wanted the story to begin the way it did, I can understand the frustration of those impatient enough to stop after the first couple of lines (or not ;p). Thanks for those of you who aren't quite so impatient.