He Who Opens the Door

Disclaimer-I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the characters

Chapter 4

Sora tossed aside the silken blue blackets and sheets that concealed his body from site. The silence, he'd noticed after all the servents took themselves to bed, was deafening. The halls outside of his room, however, were always dimly lit, most likely by Moogle candles. Sora couldn't complain, it only made his escape easier. Silently, he slid from the bed and stood, listening intently for any sounds, when he heard no movement, a pindrop would be ear shattering in this silent, he slipped his shoes on and moved into the hall. Sora allowed himself to grin for just a second, sleeping in his day clothes paid off.

Silently, he moved through the halls, running straight, not daring to take any turns to find a shortcut. He'd memorized this path and this was the way he'd go. Eventually the hall split, making a 'T' shape. He made a mad dash for it and jumped out into the open. Suddenly a figure was in front of him as he tried to make another mad dash forward down a separate hallway. Sora stopped just short of crashing into Aerith who stood confidently.

"AERITH!" Sora huffed once he righted himself, "what are you doing up?!"

Aerith, in turn, giggled and looked him in the eye, "I could ask the same of you. You've not had near enough rest and I'm betting you're still injured."

Sora's eyes shown suddenly with passion, "I can't just sit here while there's heartless out there Aerith! They're hurting people, and I've got to find-"

"Sh, I'll make you a deal." Sora raised an eyebrow and Aerith smiled, "you can go, as long as you take them." Donald and Goofy emerged from behind Aerith, Donald looked extremely flustered.

Sora smiled relieved and nodded, "Deal!"

Aerith watched them run away from her, a sad smile on her face and regarded a figure coming up behind her, "He's certainly passionate about his duty."

"And that worries you?"

"Something is incredibly different about him. Keep an eye on him please?"

The figure sighed, took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before moving off down the hall. Aeith watched the red cloak retreat and smiled gently.

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.Another slithering heartless creature fell by the pitch-black Keyblade Riku now held, yet still two more took it's place. Three creeping up behind him were suddenly struck down by a flash of gold that was King Mickey. An explosion startled several heartless but fazed neither Riku and Mickey, who took advantage of their disorientation. Kairi, finding herself capable of magic, was holding her own off to that side with a batch of heartless, even taking some down.

"Don't these things ever stop?!" Kairi yelped as one latched onto her leg. She kicked her leg up and stopped it abruptly, flinging the beast into one of Riku's backswing. The heartless dissipated immediately and Riku grinned.

"Eventually they either get tired or afraid, who knows." Riku put his focus back into the mass of heartless clogging the alley.

Kairi smartly bit back the comment that surfaced in her mind. That wasn't what she wanted, Riku had paid dearly for his crime, she could tell just in the little time they were togethere, he wouldn't let himself see beyond the blindfold, and Kairi has a hunch it wasn't because he has caused harm to his eyes. But with frightning accuracy, he could sense things, striking down their enemies as if he could see them, talking to you and giving the impression he knew your every thought, could see into your soul. At times it seemed as if Riku were still part of the darkness the way he moved, and yet, he merely went on as if it were perfectly normal. 'He's learned things from the darkness his heart was buried in. It must be so awful living and knowing he could have killed, or worse..., his best friend.' "Riku..."

Suddenly, the battle ceased, all heartless were suddenly just gone, leaving Kairi to gaze forelornly at Riku's abnormally tense back. Mickey shot alarmed looks to both of them, then was immediately at Riku's side. "Don't go too hard on her huh-" Mickey was immediately silenced by Riku's hand instantly in front of him before he could blink.

"Don't waist your pity on me Kairi. I don't deserve it or even WANT it. It'll do nothing for our situation." Controlled, jsut as he'd always sounded on the islands, when he hid what he was feeling.

"But Riku!"

"I chose my own path when I...made my decision, you don't need to carry my regrets for me." His body relaxed somewhat.

His resolve slippted a little and something like fear had become audible in his voice. Kairi balled her fists and huffed, "I hope we find Sora soon! Maybe he can knock some sense into you, it seems I can't!"

Riku scoffed humorously and rubbed a shrinking lump on his head, "Apparently not."

Mickey couldn't help but roll his eyes and mutter something about someone being worse than Donald.

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"KAIRI!" Riku grabbed her wirst and jerked her back as a mass of dark matter materialized before them.

"Not more!" Kairi whined, she'd long since exausted most of her magic abilities on the previous battle.

"Step back guys, it's dangerous!" The hood flew from Mickey's head and his large eyes grew yet wider. He reached out his hand as if to grab both of them and pull them back.

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"I do not feel him, where is he?" Somthing shifted in the pitch blackness, almost impossible to see, only felt. However, when the figure moved, the atmosphere of the black, sightless place shifted from a foreboding evil to a soul-eating stygian blackness. A figure approached the creature in the room and only scoffed and looked around with disinterested eyes.

"Our door is still open, you dont' have to fester in here you know." The figure said with a distinctly male voice. Something passed by him, just grazing his ear drawing blood he hardly paid notice to. "Frankly I don't care, I'd rather you stay in here, but even then your sister still won't leave you be.

"If you were as useless as you are stupid you'd live up to my expectations. My sister's door remains closed as it will ver be."

"Not if you don't find his heart." The man tossed a body to the creature's assumed feet.

The creature reeled and lifted the young man's body none-to-genly via a miasma of pure black energy to it's face and gazed with onyx orbs at him. The body sparkled gently, tiny pin-pricks of light dripping endlessly from his body.

"Kaimei, that thing has no heart, it didn't when I found it."

The creature, Kaimei, held the body away from her and cursed loudly before tossing it away altogether. "My guardian is taken from me by something so trivial as sealing away one of my pets and yet my sister's guardian still walks the world of consciousness when he could be dead!" The anger of Kaimei seared the room a black-red giving the room around an impression of a warped tear in space-time.

Kaimei was a creature of profound, endless blackness in which one would find themselves instantly torn from their very sould by just one glance. Kaimei had a distinctly feminine hourgless figure, lithe and tall. No features could deffinitely be made out, for the blackness enveloped her and seeped from her being, except for her eyes. Endless oceans of darkness, rimmed int he deep red taht seemed to fit so well with blackness. Kaimei WAS darkness.

"Because your sister actually kept to the pact. I told you this would happen. Your first mistake was to trust that weak human's heart to open your door!" Suddenly, the man found it exceedingly hard to breathe, pain was his body in that instant, not an inch of him didn't sear with it.

"As I ahve said before, you are exceedingly stupid. You Mitashi, are only a conscious part of me, if you provoke me further, you will be replaced and I'm sure it will be at best as pleasant as it is for you now." Absently, Kaimei let go of Mitashi and he fell to his knees panting and glaring fiercly at her back. "However, there is some sense to your rambles. Ansem was indeed weakhearted, a disappointing puppet, however, I have seen his lackies. I find the boy intriguing. Strong hearted and dedicated, yet still able to be taken advantage of. I held his heart until it was taken by that." She gestured to the body of the youth, "He is alive again, so I will move from this prison."

Mitashi stood with a grace as if nothing had happened, "What intrigues you about him?" Malice was evident in his voice but Kaimei dismissed it.

"Ansem wished to take my power, an impossible feat, but he embraced it! Until Ansem took him from me." She scoffed, "The boy seems to like being toyed with." With taht, Kaimei and the youth's body were gone.

Mitashi sighed sadly and shook his head, the youth's appearance burned into his mind, tousled auburn hair sticking up in every possible direction, his lightly sun-kissed skin, a complexion bearing the impression of infinite innocence. Once Mitashi has gotten his eyes open, startling blue eyes, endless oceans contained within two glistening orbs. Someone like this simply couldn't be born, he fit the necessities for the keybearer too perfectly. Something tugged at his heart, making him gasped and brought him to tears. Slowly, he tread out the door whispering, "Hikari, hold on. Please a little longer." The tug loosened and caressed his soul this time. A last tear slipped from his eye, reflecting a light that wasn't in the room.

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A/N: I'M BAAAAAAAACK! Lol, sry for the wait, had a LOT on my mind lately. Yeah this story is going in a COMPLETELY different direction that in intended. But that's ok! .