Me: … (knocked out)

Kaitsu: um…Merielle was in a little accident today…

Takari: dude, you knocked her out cold with your freakin' Keyblade! That's not an accident!

Me: (wakes up) ow, my head… (sees Kaitsu) you!!!

Kaitsu: uh-oh…

Me: (summons staff) someone needs to be punished…

Ken: This scene is censored for extreme violence, cursing, blood, and evil rabid squirrels. We are sorry for the inconvenience. The end of the scene will be at the end of the story.

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts… How many times do I have to say it?!


Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 5—Explanation and Enigmas

"Your…what?" muttered Sora.

"He's my brother," repeated Kaitsu. It took a minute for the words to sink in before they realized what he meant.

"So… that Heartless was once your brother?" asked Kairi. Kaitsu nodded.

"But how can that be?" muttered Riku. "When someone becomes a Heartless, they forget everything they once knew and only concentrate on stealing hearts. How can it remember you? And why isn't it attacking us?" Kaitsu sighed, deciding to tell them the truth.

"When my brother was killed, a hooded man decided to help me. He said he could bring my brother back to life. But…something went wrong…"

---4 years ago---

"What… What did you do?"

Kaitsu looked at the bed where his dead brother once lay, now seeing a Heartless standing there. It had blue claws, and a small symbol engraved on its chest. The hooded man sighed,

"I should have told you sooner. During our search, we did manage to find your brother's heart, but only half of it."

"What?" Kaitsu glared at the man. "You said you would bring him back! You said you were going to find his heart, not half of it!"

"I'm sorry," muttered the man. "The other half was already destroyed by the Heartless." Kaitsu lowered his head as the man walked towards the Heartless. When Kaitsu looked back at the man, he was holding the Heartless in his arms.

"W-What are you doing? It'll kill you!"

"Don't worry, it won't. It trusts us." The man petted the Heartless' head. Suddenly something occurred to Kaitsu.

"Wait… You could only restore half of his heart? But…doesn't that mean…?"

"Your brother is now a half-Heartless," said the man as he placed the Heartless on the ground. The Heartless closed it eyes as it transformed into a boy near the age of twelve. The boy opened his eyes, revealing two bright yellow orbs instead of the calm blue it had once been.

"K-Kotoro?" muttered Kaitsu. The boy looked at Kaitsu, then smiled,

"It's good to see you again, Kaitsu."


"So… your brother's half-Heartless?" asked Sora. Kaitsu nodded, finishing his explanation about the event four years ago. Sora, Riku, and Kairi were completely confused.

"But, what about that Keyblade?" asked Sora, pointing to Kaitsu's Keyblade.

"I don't know how I got it. After my world was destroyed, I woke up in front of a white door with the Keyblade in my hand."

"Hold on, what white door?" asked Riku. Kaitsu stayed silent for a few minutes, then answered,

"The door to Kingdom Hearts…" muttered Kaitsu. The three froze at this. Riku narrowed his eyes at Kaitsu.

"So, you've been living in Kingdom Hearts for five years?"

"It wasn't really my choice," said Kaitsu. He knew he was saying too much, but it didn't matter anymore. "I was forced to stay and protect that door. At first, I thought it would be fun, having a Keyblade and protecting Kingdom Hearts… but it wasn't fun at all." Kaitsu paused. After receiving no answer, he continued,

"I grew sick and tired of the place, so I tried to escape by using the door. And now I ended up here…" He looked at the three.

"Wow… I never would have thought…" muttered Kairi.

"So…I guess there's two Keyblade Masters now," said Sora. Kaitsu stood up, still holding the Heartless.

"I'm sorry for all of the trouble I've caused. I should have never left. I should probably leave anyway…" Kaitsu turned around, walking a few steps before Sora called out,

"Wait!"

Kaitsu stopped and looked back at the three.

"Um… We're sorry about what we did. I guess we got a bit…carried away," said Sora. "Anyway...I guess you can stay here. This can be your new home."

Kaitsu stared at them. 'They want me to stay? But…what if something happens…?' He was snapped out of his thoughts as Riku spoke,

"Look…I'm sorry for what I did. I guess I was just being paranoid…" he muttered. Kaitsu continued to stare at them for a few minutes, then smiled,

"I forgive you."

The three smiled, relieved to have their friend back. Their troubles were finally over…or so they thought…


"Kaitsu…" No reply. "Kaitsu…?" Still no reply. "…Wake up already!" He groaned, still receiving no reply.

"Since when have you been a heavy sleeper, Kaitsu?" said Kotoro.

It's been five days since Kaitsu confessed the truth about him. Kaitsu was relieved to find out that they had been through the same thing as him. They had become friends once more, and even Riku was being nice to Kaitsu. After two days, they managed to build a small shack for Kaitsu to live in. Now Kaitsu was sleeping peacefully in his bed, having no nightmares at all. Too bad it was one o' clock in the afternoon…

"Wake up, dammit!" groaned Kotoro. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. He leaned forward and whispered in Kaitsu's ear,

"Kaitsu, the squirrels are coming…"

Kaitsu started stirring in his sleep, and mumbled,

"No…Go away…"

"They're hungry, Kaitsu…They want more peanuts…" whispered Kotoro, trying to hold back his laughter. Kaitsu had always been afraid of squirrels ever since he had been attacked by one of them when he was five.

"No…No more peanuts…" mumbled Kaitsu. Kotoro paused for a second, then shouted in his ear,

"The squirrels are coming!!!"

"NO!" Kaitsu shot up from his sleep, whacking Kotoro's head in the process. He blinked and looked down at Kotoro, who was laughing his head off. Kaitsu glared at him,

"You did the squirrel thing again, didn't you?"

Kotoro nodded, nearly hysterical from laughter,

"You should have seen…the look on your face!" Kotoro continued laughing. Before he could react, a pillow collided with his head, knocking him over.

"Ow…" muttered Kotoro, rubbing his head. He looked up and saw that Kaitsu was already gone. He sighed, shaking his head, "He can't even take a joke…"


"Stupid Kotoro…" muttered Kaitsu, sitting under the bridge leading to Paopu Island. He sighed, pulling out a grey orb from his pocket. 'I wonder why they gave me this…' He quickly put the orb away as he heard footsteps approaching him. He stood up, looking behind him, and gasped,

"What…What are you doing here?"

A cloaked figure about Kaitsu's size stood before him. A frown was visible from underneath his hood,

"Why did you leave the door, Kaitsu?"

Kaitsu glared at the figure, saying,

"I got sick and tired of that place. Now tell me, what's your real reason for being here, Ken?"

The figure removed his hood, revealing a boy about fifteen with black hair, pale skin, and purple eyes. He had an annoyed look that showed he would rather be somewhere else than here.

"I have a message from Ronin," said Ken.

Kaitsu froze, his eyes narrowing at him,

"What does he want?"

"He said, 'Beware of what side you choose. The fate of all worlds depends on your choice.'"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Kaitsu. Ken just shrugged,

"Don't ask me. I'm just delivering a message." He turned to walk off, but stopped when Kaitsu said,

"Wait! Can you please tell me what this is for?" Kaitsu pulled out the orb.

"Sorry. I can't," said Ken.

"Why not?" Kaitsu was getting annoyed by this. Why won't they just tell him?

"Because you're not ready yet. So stop asking questions and shut up," he scowled before disappearing. 'Wow. He's in a bad mood…' thought Kaitsu. He turned around and saw Kotoro running up to him.

"Kaitsu, come on! The others are waiting on the other side of the island," said Kotoro. Kaitsu nodded, smiling, and ran off with Kotoro.


Four hooded figures were standing around a small platform in a dark room. On the platform was a large orb, showing Kaitsu running with Kotoro towards Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

"Do you think we should tell him…?" came a girl's voice.

"No," said another voice. "If we tell him now, it might result in utter chaos."

"Oh, stop being such a killjoy, Ken," said a third voice.

"Shut up, Ryu," growled Ken.

"Killjoy! Killjoy! Killjoy!" taunted Ryu.

"Why you little--"

"You two better shut up before I rip out your vocal cords!" said a fourth voice, who was obviously ticked off. Both boys became silent.

"…I still think we should tell him," said the girl.

"You're can be very annoying sometimes, Seika…" muttered the fourth voice.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Takari," said Seika. Takari just scowled and muttered several curses for no apparent reason before Ryu spoke up,

"Ronin said that he will be the one to tell him. Meanwhile, we're supposed to keep watch on him and make sure nothing happens to him."

"Just great… Now we have to baby sit a little kid," muttered Ken.

"You're still a killjoy," said Ryu.

"Shut up!"

"Enough already!" said a fifth voice. The four figures fell silent as a hooded man entered the room.

"I didn't give you four back your lives just to hear you bickering," said the man. The four lowered their heads and muttered apologies. The man looked at the orb showing Kaitsu.

"You four are to watch over him at all times. Make sure he doesn't get hurt. It is our duty to protect him at all costs. And if anything does happen to him…" He looked at the four sternly, "You will regret it."

The four nodded as the man left the room once more and went back to watching Kaitsu play with his friends happily, unaware of the dangers soon to befall him.


Kaitsu: (is tied up, hanging down from a tree branch, and bleeding badly) let me down!!

Me: Never! Mwahaha!

Ken: Hey! Why'd you put me and Takari in the story?

Me: Because I felt like it. Anywho, I bet you guys are wondering about the hooded people. No, they are NOT the Unknowns. They're…something else. Probably guardians…or something. I still haven't decided. Oh, and here's the review replies!

TenchiKai- I might put a cliffy on each chapter if this keeps up… XD

Ninja Mage- The glowing eyes will be explained later. And yes, Riku got very ticked. XD

Kaitsu: can you put me down now? (still hanging)

Merielle: Never!! Hahaha!

Kaitsu: twisted little psyco…

Merielle