Searching for the Light

Chapter 1: Alliance

Summery: Yuffie is a teen who goes off to the world of Balamb Garden in hopes of joining the ranks of the SeeD and aid in the fight against the darkness. This story will tell of her quest and its many trials.

AN #1: Major differences from Kingdome Hearts abound. Also, this is my second attempt at writing a fan fiction, and any and all feedback is welcomed. Oh, I apologize in advance for how… err technical and short this first chapter is. It houses a lot of story background.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Square or Disney Characters or Worlds! I do, however, own the world of Anakadia, as well as the characters Mau and Tyler. My good friend Matty, naturally, owns Matty. :P

It had been nearly a year since the heartless first started to terrorize worlds all across time and space. Ten months since Hollow Bastion had its first contact with another world, and then with in a handful of weeks, they came to know of many other worlds. Soon various alliances where made against the heartless. One of these alliances was with a world called Balamb Garden. It was through this alliance that these two worlds, as well as Spira and Anakadia, agreed to help train warriors to fight the ever increasing number of heartless.

It had been agreed by all, that the world of Balamb Garden was best suited for the task of training, seeing as the world itself seamed to be nothing but a rather large military/mercenary school, and was already well equipped for the task. However, with the first attack of the heartless, the proud warrior world lost several of its residents, though not nearly to the point of many of the other worlds.

So, as things were, Hollow Bastion and the other members of the alliance agreed to send several of their own to help establish a strong, knowledgably staff. Then once those sent settled in and found their niche as Instructors, the allied worlds would send pupils to train, in hopes that they would be able to join Balamb Garden's elite warrior class, SeeD. Then as SeeD, they would be dispatched throughout the alliance to fight and defend against the Heartless.

Yuffie closed her text book with a loud thud, trying hard to suppress a large yawn. The young teen had just spent the last five hours preparing herself for the written part of the Seed test she was to take the next day. Casting a glance at the alarm clock resting next to her bed, she let out an exasperated sigh. : Why'd they have to make the test over so much boring stuff…: Her nose crinkled at all the information they where excepted to memorize and remember.

Laying back on her bed, Yuffie stared at the ceiling of her room, thinking over all the things she would need to do after, and if, she passed the test. She kicked absent mindedly with a scoffed sneaker at a bedpost. : I'm going to miss every one. but then again, I'm going to get to see some of my closest friends.: At this thought a grin spread across her contemplative face, :I wonder how old rust bucket is doing: she chuckled, knowing how much Cid would protests at being called by her pet name for him.

So engrossed in her thoughts of how much fun she was going to have in tormenting the old man again, she barley noticed the light knocking on her door. Yuffie grudgingly sat up and walked over to answer the door. Upon opening it, Yuffie was greeted by the site of a petit looking red head dressed in white and purple. "Oh, hey Kairi." She then quickly stepped to the side in silent offering for the girl to enter her room.

Seeing that Yuffie had finally opened the portal and stepped aside, Kairi quickly entered, waving her own hello back. She stopped near the bed, eyeing the book laying on it. "So, are you psyched up about passing the test tomorrow, Yuff?" Kairi grinned knowingly as she turned to face her usually hyper active friend. Tunefully, she too was anxious about the next day's test, and what would happen afterwards.

Yuffie just rolled her eyes, and then had a seat back on her bed. "Kairi, what sorta question is that, of course I'm psyched up! How could I not be psyched up! It's only, oh say, the biggest test in my life!" Exasperatedly, she through her hands up in the air as emphases, earning a chuckle from Kairi. She mock glared at her friend, then shook her head, breaking into her own chuckle. "So, how about you? Nervous yet?"

Kairi rolled her eyes, then flopped down on the bed next to Yuffie. "Why do you think I am pestering you about it?" Resting her head in her hands she glanced at the textbook again. Care for me to take your mind off the test itself?" She raised her eyebrow questioningly at the young ninja. "I can tell you a little more about Balamb, seeing as I just came from talking with one of the new SeeD they stationed here."

Yuffie blinked at her friend in surprise. "What SeeD? Since when did they finally send any here? Well, I mean... you know, since the initial ones they sent" She gave a slightly embarrassed look over how she had initially worded her remark. Crossing her arms over her chest, she slightly huffed and glared at the bead spread. : Why I am always the last to know everything...:

The red head grinned at her friend's reaction, but knew better than to laugh. Joining Yuffie on the bed she gently patted her comfortingly on the back. "I know what ya meant Yuff. Besides, I didn't know ether, until I accidentally ran one over while trying to get away from Sora and Riku." She chuckled lightly at the memory. They had been walking back from training with Tifa, when the three of them had gotten into an argument, that she started, that resulted in a tickling match of sorts. Of course, once Sora stopped trying to out do Kairi at tickling Riku, both the boys teamed up and turned on her. She had quickly fled as fast as she could then, not paying much attention to where she was going.

Kairi hadn't even realized she had zoned out while thinking back over the circumstances that had lead to her running into the SeeD until Yuffie dealt her a not so genital nudge off the bed. "Whoa! Hey, Yuffie!" She quickly pulled herself up out of the floor and back onto the bed. Having gotten comfortable once again she turned, glaring slightly at Yuffie, and then sighed, ready to pick up where she left off. "Any way, as I said, I found out more information about Balamb Garden, and what living there will be like."

AN #2: Ok, first off, I've tweaked the world of Hollow Bastion and who hails from it, as well, I have 'deleted' the world of Destiny Islands. Any character from ff7 is from Hollow Bastion, as well as Kairi, Sora, and Riku. Also, Squall is not from Hollow Bastion, why? Cause I wanted to use the younger Squall in my story. Oh, and, as I said before, all feedback is welcomed, so please review. Also, if your interested, I have the first story I tried up on as well. It isn't finished, and I probably will never finish it. However, I'm willing to give it another try if it gets enough reviews.

Thank you all for taking time to read this!

Xouri