Hi, this is Anonys again (finally). This just happens to be a VERY long chapter (5 pages double spaced), so I'm sorry about the long read. If you want to check it out, I wrote a story about Amarak on the original fiction site. It's called, "What Lies in the Heart of a Dragon." It's under the action category (considering it's full of it) and you might enjoy it.
disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belong to me except Amarak, the Council, the main character, and Tifa in the KH world. All the others belong to Squaresoft, CLAMP, and Disney. Enjoy.
Chapter III - Kingdom Hearts
When they arrived, they were met with the sight of two men talking casually near the fountain in the center of the hall. Tifa stopped suddenly as the two figures came into view.
"Am I leaving so soon?" she asked. Ansem turned to her with a smile. The man who had been talking to him looked over to Tifa with a sad look in his dark eyes. He seemed to be around 18 to 20 years old and was wearing a dark blue suit. His black hair only added to his mysterious look.
"I'm sorry, but you've been called back early."
Tifa's eyes filled with tears. "But I've only been here for six months. I can't leave yet!" Her hands went to her eyes as she started crying. Squall looked at her as if she had just sprouted horns and he started backing away. The man in the suit rose from his chair and went over to the crying girl. He knelt on the ground and hugged her close, not unlike what a brother would do for a young sister.
He whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry to have to do this. I know it's on short notice, but the Council wanted to speak to you immediately and no amount of arguing on my part could change their mind." Tifa's tears stopped suddenly as she stepped back and looked closely at the man.
"I'm afraid," he said, "that you probably won't be able to return to this world again."
"What do you mean?" she whispered. He stood up and wiped off her tears with a handkerchief. Aeris and Yuffie burst through the door. Band-aids could be seen on their arms and legs, evidence of their earlier fight. They had been arguing but they abruptly stopped and stared silently, for the first time in their lives, at the two figures.
"Well, I think this is a cue for these two ladies and I to leave for a little while," Ansem announced. He walked towards the two watching girls and, with arms outstretched, started shooing them out the door.
"But, but we just got here!" Aeris complained.
"Yeah!" Yuffie agreed as they turned around to head out the door.
"I think these three need some 'alone time' now," Ansem said. "He's come a long way and he needs to speak to his sister and Squall alone." He looked them in the eye and they stopped complaining. The door closed silently behind them and Tifa, Squall, and the man were left alone.
"Sister!" Tifa exclaimed once the three were out of earshot. "Vincent, are you out of your mind?"
"I guess you could say that," he answered, "but it was a necessary precaution. I didn't think he'd leave us alone if I'd said I was here to call back the supreme guardian of the universe who just happened to have lived with him for almost a year now and who needs to go back to her job of protecting the balance of every planet in the universe just so he can rest at peace with the hope that she'll protect his world from every form of harm and instigated disaster that might accidentally disturb the fabric of this world's core or in the instance that–"
"Okay, okay, I get the idea." Tifa interrupted. "You've been rehearsing this haven't you?"
"12 times in fact." He replied with a smile.
"You and your big mouth…" Tifa murmured as she shook her head.
"So, is this the one?" Vincent asked as the two turned toward Squall.
"Yes," she sighed, "but he's still very young. I'm not sure if you should give him this large of a responsibility yet."
"Are you sure age isn't the only reason you don't want him to get the job?" he said with a wink.
"What are you implying?"
"Only that the great Supreme Guardian is starting to have some feelings for her young companion." He grinned.
"Shove it, leech. No one asked you for your opinion on my personal life," she snapped.
"Perfect. Just because you yelled at me gives me all the proof I need to know that my suspicions were true," he said smugly. She turned to glare at him.
"What did you mean by responsibility?" Squall asked. The two looked at him.
"It's the reason she, uhh…Tifa was sent here," Vincent replied. "It's Tifa here, right?"
"Yes." She rolled her eyes and looked at Squall. "You were chosen to be the guardian of this world." Tifa explained. "Your job will be to maintain the peace within this realm. It is a great responsibility and it requires a large amount of patience and training. I was going to tell you when you were older and had a little more experience, but I guess matters have been taken out of my hands." She looked at Vincent.
"So I get to protect this world?" Squall asked.
"Pretty much."
"Protecting it is only one part of the job," Vincent added, "but it's a large portion of what you will be doing. Along with protecting, you will also regulate inter-world travel, monitor the movement of inter-world travelers, maintain the relations between the races of the world, keep secret the identity of all guardians and inter-world travelers, mark any violations of code, watch for any abnormalities that occur within the world's core, keep track of–"
"Okay, okay, I think he gets the idea," Tifa interrupted. "Do you have any questions?"
"Yeah, what did you mean when you said you wanted to wait until I was a little more experienced?" Squall asked.
"Well, you're not quite old enough to understand fully the enormous responsibility you have been given. I also wanted to wait until you knew a little more about fighting."
"Why do I need to know about fighting?"
"Well, you won't only be watching this world, you'll be defending it as well. You need experience with weapons and skills so that you can keep off any enemies that might want to take over this world."
"Are you a guardian as well?"
"Yep," she answered with a smile, "but I guard more than just one world."
"Then that means you had to learn to fight too?"
"Yeah," she replied sheepishly. She scratched her head. "Well, SG's, or Supreme Guardians, have to be able to use a weapon called a 'keyblade.' It's an adapted version of a short sword that can be used to penetrate into the heart of a world."
"Wow, do you have it with you?"
"Yes," she answered. A white sword appeared in her hand. Pink blooms resembling cherry blossoms were spread out along its length. The whole sword was in the shape of a large key. Hanging from its pommel was a keychain with a charm in the shape of a tree. "This is a keyblade. They come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the charm hanging from the pommel, or blunt end." She showed him the tree. "This charm was given to me by a guardian named Mokona. I helped him in his world for a short time. Once everything had calmed down, he gave me this."
"Does it always just appear in your hand like that?"
"It comes when it's needed. SG's aren't the only ones who have keyblades. Some special world guardians have them, but there's only 5 who do and they can't change the shape of theirs like I can with mine."
"I thought you hated swords?"
"This one isn't like other swords. It doesn't really cut like others do." She looked down.
"To get back on topic," Vincent interrupted, "you will eventually become the guardian of this world. A teacher will come in a few days to instruct you in the use of some weapons and the job of a guardian."
"How long will it take for me to learn?" Squall asked.
"It should take around four years for instruction and for you to learn the necessary fighting skills."
"Four years!"
"The time it takes to learn depends on who is the one learning," Tifa corrected him. Squall noticed that the sword was gone from her hand. "It only took me half a year to learn it all and I have the whole universe to protect."
"Well, it does vary, but four years is the average," Vincent said. "Besides, you had the whole universe as your training grounds. Now with that out of the way, we'd best be going." He turned toward the door leading outside.
"Where are you going?" Squall asked, worried. Vincent stopped.
"Do we have to leave so soon?" Tifa asked.
"I'm sorry, but you are expected at the Council before sundown in their world," Vincent said as he turned to face them again. "That only gives us two hours to travel. What with packing and saying goodbye to everyone, we will have to rush to make it there on time. Besides, any world matters that will occur must be taken care of by the world guardian and his people only. You cannot help in this world any longer. You'd only be in the way."
"But there must be something I can do to help here," Tifa begged. "Surely Cid won't be able to teach him everything he needs to know by himself?"
"You know as well as I do how capable of a teacher Cid is. Squall will be fine with him. Now, you'd better go say your goodbyes. We're running out of daylight."
"All right. But, can you leave Squall and I alone for a few minutes." Vincent looked as if he was about to object. "Don't worry, I won't take up more than five minutes of your precious daylight, all right?"
"Fine." He stalked out the door to wait outside. Tifa turned to Squall.
"Do you really have to go like this?" Squall asked.
"I'm sorry. I'd stay if I could, but the Council will be furious if I don't return in the allotted time. They get really strict about things like that." The two stared silently at one another until Tifa looked down and took a ring from her finger. She took Squall's hand and placed the ring in his palm. "Don't lose this. My father gave it to me. It's the only thing I have to remember him by."
"Then why are you giving it to me?"
"Because I want you to have it. My dad told me to give it to someone who is special to me. Someone who I want to be there with me when times get rough. Someone who I don't want to forget me." She closed his fingers around the ring. "I want to remember the time I spent here. This has been the only world I've visited so far that has reminded me of my home. The only one where I've found a family." She looked into his eyes with a smile. "And friends." Squall looked down at their hands and, for the first time, wasn't embarrassed.
"Tifa, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time now." He looked up at her, compassion showing in his eyes. "I've known you for less than a year and it seems as if we've been friends for our entire lives." He took her other hand in his. "I guess what I'm trying to say is–"
"Tifa, Tifa! Say it's not true! Say you're not going away!" Yuffie cried as she raced into the room. Squall and Tifa jumped apart as she ran toward them. "Ansem just told us you're going away with the cute guy! You can't really be leaving can you? Please say it isn't so!" She ran up and hugged Tifa, sobbing into her shirt as Ansem and Aeris, carrying a suitcase, arrived at the door.
"I'm sorry Yuffie, but I have to go," Tifa explained as she patted Yuffie's head. "I promise I'll be back to see you sometime, I just have to go on a little trip for now. That's all."
"A little trip?" Yuffie stopped crying. "You mean you won't be gone forever?"
"I don't plan on it," Tifa replied, thinking back on what Vincent had said.
"Well then," Yuffie said as she wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened up. "You're really not leaving for good?"
"No, I'm not, so I expect you to grow up and be a great ninja by the time I return, okay?"
"You bet!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I won't let you down." She moved back as Aeris stepped in to say her goodbye.
"So how long do you think you'll be away?" She asked.
"It should be a few years or so, nothing big," Tifa answered.
"A few years isn't too long."
"Do you think you could teach me the finer points of using a staff when I return?"
"I'd love to!" Aeris replied as a smile lit up her face. "But you can't chicken out on me like you did last time, all right?"
"Deal."
"Good, here's your things." Aeris handed Tifa the suitcase and joined Yuffie as Ansem walked up to Tifa.
"I guess this is goodbye," he said.
"Only for awhile," Tifa corrected him.
"Only for awhile. I suppose this means you won't be needing any more sword instruction next time you come here?"
"Definitely not!" Tifa replied.
"Ha ha ha. You always were one to avoid a fight. Well, it's been a pleasure to be your teacher. I expect you will do big things in your lifetime and I wish you luck with them all." They shook hands and he turned to walk away.
"Yes, plenty of big things," Tifa whispered. Ansem turned back.
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing," she replied. "Just thinking of the future."
"Yes. The future is sure to hold a lot for all of us," he said mysteriously. Tifa noticed a notebook he held in his left hand. The word 'Heartless' was written on the front cover. Tifa was about to ask him about it when Vincent came back inside.
"Sorry to interrupt the sad goodbyes, but we must be on our way," he said as he motioned for Tifa to head outside.
"I'm really going to miss you all," she said before turning to go. "You're the closest thing to a true family that I've ever had. Goodbye." She waved to them as she walked toward the door.
I was brought back to my senses as I ran into a wall.
