Me: ((comes in on a wheelchair)) Another chapter! Not much to say here. There's going to be a little twist in this chapter. Most of you'll probably hate me (or bow down to me) for this.

Seika: (stares at the wheelchair and arm cast) what happened to you?

Me: Takari and Kaitsu actually took the advice of that one reviewer. (mumbleStupidKeybladesmumble) Anywho, enjoy the chapter!

Takari: Merielle doesn't own Kingdom Hearts. Readers don't sue.


Destiny's Punishment
Chapter 21—Jumping to Conclusions

This was a very difficult decision. Mickey looked up at the three separate halls that formed at the end of their path. At last, he sighed and pointed at the center one.

"Sora, you can go through that one," said Mickey. "Riku, go right. And Kairi, go left."

"Where are you going to go?" asked Sora, walking towards the center hallway.

"I'm going to go back and look for another way."

The others nodded and went their separate ways.


"This is bad. Really bad," muttered Tamorei.

"Where is he right now?" asked Kotoro, his tone becoming worried.

"I'm not sure," muttered Sanyu. "Nori, see if you can sense him anywhere in the castle."

Nori closed his eyes, concentrating on the air around him. He could hear the footsteps of Sora and the others a floor below. Concentrating harder, the sound of a lock opening and faint whispers came to his ears.

"I hear someone coming in from the first floor…"

"We can deal with that later. Just concentrate on finding Kaitsu."

Nori nodded and tried again. This time he was able to sense something else with Sora and the others. He heard their footsteps separating. Confusion etched on his face as he heard an extra pair of footsteps going down on of the hallways. Suddenly a clang was heard…

…And a scream echoed throughout the entire hallway.

The others froze, for they had heard it too.

"He attacked one of your friends," warned Nori.

"Oh no…" Immediately, all four of them ran down the hallway to where the scream came from.


"N-no…please…"

Kaitsu glared down at the limp body as it struggled to move away, and failed to do so. His eyes followed the blood as it dripped slowly to the ground and seeped through the cracks in the stoned floor.

"This is the only way I can be at peace," he hissed, raising the Keyblade. "Now die." And the blade came crashing down…


"We can't be too far now," said Sanyu as they approached the spot where they heard the scream. They all gasped at the sight they saw.

There lay a figure in a pool of blood. Several scar and stabs were all over its body. Kotoro knelt down and turned over the body. It was… Kairi.

"My god…"

They looked up at the sounds of footsteps approaching and saw Sora and Riku appear down the hallway.

"Kairi, what's going on? We heard a scream and--"

They immediately stopped at the sight of Kairi's lifeless body. "…Wha…Kairi…"

"I don't believe this…" muttered Riku.

"Kairi…No…" Sora continued staring at her, trying to understand what had just happened. He looked over at Kotoro, who was holding Kairi, blood covering his cloak. His eyes darted towards the Dark Guardians a few feet away. Immediately, Sora jumped to a conclusion.

"You killed her…"

"What? No, I didn't." Kotoro looked up at him in shock.

"Yes you did! You've joined the Dark Guardians and now you killed Kairi!"

"Sora, you don't understand--"

"Traitor!" Keyblade in hand, Sora lunged straight at Kotoro, who jumped back quickly. Kotoro winced as the Keyblade made contact with his arm and stumbled back a few steps.

"Get back." Sanyu stepped in front of him and pulled out a card. "Wind!" Immediately a strong gust of wind blew at Sora and Riku, sending them back a few feet. The two stood back up, only to find them gone.


A portal tore open in the middle of the room and out came Kotoro and the Dark Guardians. Kotoro sighed and sat down on the ground, trying to calm down his confused mind.

"What a mess…"

"Why the hell did they do that? We did nothing wrong!" protested Tamorei.

"They were confused and afraid. Instead of being reasonable, they jumped to a conclusion," explained Nori. "Fear can do that to people."

"We don't have time to worry about this," said Sanyu. "What's happened has happened. There's nothing we can do about it."

"You're right," said Kotoro, standing back up. "We'd better find Kaitsu before things get worse."

"We should… but first thing's first." Sanyu turned to Nori. "We'd better see who it was that came in uninvited."


"We're going to die."

"No, we aren't. Calm down and shut up," hissed Ken, looking back at Takari.

"We're going to die and you're telling me to calm down!"

"Don't worry, Takari," said Seika. "As long as there's no shadowy figure stalking us, we'll be just fine."

"If there was a figure stalking us, it would have already attacked us!"

Just as he finished, a piece of metal slammed straight into his back, causing him to keel over. The others turned around and saw Kaitsu standing there.

"Wow! Someone really was stalking us!" gasped Seika, completely oblivious to the situation. Takari stood back up, rubbing his back in pain.

"So, you're still alive," muttered Kaitsu, looking at Takari. "And you even brought your friends along this time."

"Kaitsu, you don't understand. You're making a big mistake!" protested Ken.

"Why won't you all just leave me alone!" In his fury, Kaitsu slashed at Ken, only to have it evaded. Seika jumped in and threw several fire spells at him. Kaitsu raised his Keyblade and started spinning it in a circle, quickly diminishing the balls of fire.

"He's too strong to fight," said Ken. "We have to figure out another way to stop him."

"Leave that to me!" assured Ryu. He pulled out a deck of cards and brought up the first one. It showed a figure and several shadows of the same figure on it. "Duplicate!" The card began to glow and suddenly multiple images of Ryu appeared around Kaitsu.

"Find me if you can!" teased Ryu. Kaitsu looked among the images, trying to ignore the echoes of laughter. Several seconds passed, but he still couldn't find the real one. Kaitsu smirked, and suddenly, he disappeared. The multiple images faded away as Ryu looked around.

"What's the matter, Kaitsu? Are you scared? Come out and fight—" But Ryu was cut off as he felt something sharp pierce into his back. He looked behind himself and saw Kaitsu standing there, Keyblade in hand. He instantly pulled the blade out, watching Ryu fall unconscious to the floor.

"Ryu!" screamed Seika. She ran towards the boy and put up a shield around them before Kaitsu could strike again. Ken and Takari stepped forward, ready to attack, but heard several footsteps approaching. They looked behind them and saw Kotoro and the Dark Guardians running towards them.

"What are you doing here!" demanded Sanyu, shooting a glare at the Light Guardians.

"We're here to save Kaitsu. What are you doing here?" asked Ken.

"Exactly what you're doing," he replied. Kotoro stepped forward, glaring at Kaitsu.

"Kaitsu, stop this! Why are you doing this!"

"This is the only way I can be at peace," hissed Kaitsu, eyes narrowing.

"Just look at what you're doing! You killed Donald, Goofy, and Kairi! You're hurting your friends!" shouted Kotoro. Kaitsu blinked and took a step back at these words. Kotoro gestured at Ryu, who had a gash in his back. "Do you really think that is going to bring you peace?"

"Sh…shut up!" Kaitsu swung the Keyblade at him, only to have it deflected by the older boy's claws.

"We're only trying to help you!"

"I don't need any help!" This continued on for several minutes, neither of them able to land a blow on the other.

Suddenly Kotoro stopped as a sharp spasm was felt in his chest. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest as the pain grew. Kaitsu blinked and stepped back.

'Yasuko, what are you doing!'

'Go back to the tower. Now. We'll deal with them later.'

A portal appeared behind Kaitsu and he disappeared through it. Kotoro blinked as the pain immediately stopped, and stood back up.

"Damn, he got away," said Takari.

"Ryu, please wake up," said Seika as she shook Ryu's shoulder. He groaned and opened his eyes, trying to focus. He sat up and flinched as he felt the pain in his back. "You shouldn't get up yet," warned Seika.

"I'm fine… It's no big deal," he said. He winced when he saw the gash in his back.

"Idiot. You should've paid more attention," said Ken as Seika began casting 'cure' on the wound. Suddenly a whisper echoed through the hall, causing the others to jump.

"Traitors…"

They instantly recognized the voice as Yasuko. Sanyu, Tamorei, and Nori lowered their heads, knowing that he was referring to them.

"You three will pay for defying me…"

The voice slowly faded away at the last words. Sanyu cursed under his breath and sighed. "Well, so much for our second chance…"


Me: I don't know whether you guys love me or hate me for killing Kairi. The big twist might add to the 'angry mob' effect. At first I just wanted to kill Kairi very bluntly… but them my twisted mind decided 'aw, what the heck. Let there be a twist!' ……I'm gona get killed for this…

Ken: Well, you're lucky you let Ryu live…

Me: yeah. One death and twist is enough for this chapter. (prepares herself for flames and angry mobs)

Takari: And now for review replies…

Gibby- Glad to see you like the story!

Mediciner- (le gasp!) The great Med has graced her presence! XD I just like adding comedy to make readers happy once in a while. Too much angst is….ick.

Mikol- No, apparently I don't XD Sorry for taking so long.

purplish111- Thanks! (glomp) 'Tis much appreciated!

Me: That's all for now! Read and review!

Merielle