Hey, all. Chapter 3 is UP. Now you get to meet Dai! Have fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the children of this fic, and the plot. The setting, Heartless, and all that stuff belongs to whoever made Kingdom Hearts.

"Hey, kid. Wake up. Come on. Wake up."

That was the first thing that drifted into Haru's mind, and pulled him out of his groggy sleep, rather unwillingly. He had a headache, and the pain only increased as he rose to consciousness.

Finally he managed to lift open one eyelid, and he saw a strange material. Brick. Since when was there brick on Destiny Island?

Suddenly, he remembered what had happened. The strange creatures (The Heartless, according to Kenji.). Kenji swallowed up by the glimmering goo. And the giant key.

His eyes flew open, and he tried to get up. But a wave of dizziness overpowered him, and he sank back to the ground.

"Hey, come on! Get up!"

The annoying voice again. It grated his nerves. Couldn't it just let him sleep? Finally, he tried opening his bleary eyes again, and waited for them to focus. Once he could see, he glanced up to find the source of the voice.

There was a girl standing there, looking at him as though he were a bit of mud on her unpractical black boots. She had brown hair, and stormy blue eyes that were narrowed in a glare. She wore a black skirt, and a white camisole, and seemed to have an attachment to red belts. She wore one around her neck, a few around each wrist, and one tilted across her waist, obviously too loose to be of use.

She gave him a quick glance over, inspecting him. Her face made it all too clear that what she saw she did not find promising.

"You are the new keybearer?" She asked, her voice obviously stating that such an honor (whatever it was) was too good for the little piece of slime that had attached itself to her boot.

"Keybearer?" Haru asked dimly, his mind still working out where he was, and unable to do more then repeat her.

"Not the brightest bulb in the pack, huh?" She noted, and this seemed to cheer her up.

Haru opened his mouth to protest that he was certainly smart, no doubt smarter then she, when he was hauled to his feet by her belted hands, and was briskly brushed off of the dust he had collected down on the floor.

"God lord, look at you! Dozing off in this old alley. I almost thought you were some kind of hobo." She continued, grasping him by the shoulder and holding him arm length to inspect her handiwork.

"I didn't choose to doze off there, and- where am I?" Haru jerked his head around, looking at the sights. This was definitely not Destiny Island. "And, what's this about a keybearer? And where is Kenji? And what are these Heartless creatures? And-"

"If you don't stop with the rapid fire, I'll throw you back into your hobo home." The girl snapped, releasing him with a small push. "Honestly. I'd better take you to Father."

"But-!"

"No butting, either. Come on. I'm Dai, by the way. And put that blade away. You want the heartless to hack us into a hobo stew for you?"

The boy glanced down, and suddenly realized that he was grasping with a death grip onto the giant key-sword that he had found before the darkness had overcome him. He grasped it tightly, smiling in reassurance. Even though he had no idea what it was, it made him feel safe. Safe enough to venture his name.

"I'm Haru-" But Dai had other plans. Scowling, she grabbed his arm and starting hauling out of there, leaving Haru unable to speak, as his head was swiveling around looking at the town around him.

"Men!"

Dai's House, Dining room

"You're the new keybearer?" The voice held similar surprise as his daughter, but at least this tall man was kind enough to not give the impression that Haru was just about the ickiest thing he had ever seen. Or, maybe he had just seen ickier. Who knew?

The man was obviously the girl's father. They shared the same eyes, the sky above the ocean before a storm. Her facial features- the shape of her eyes were larger, and her face was rounder –seemed to be gifts of her mother. Their hair was also the same dark chestnut, though for some odd reason, the father's hair was even longer then his daughter's.

"I'm not sure, sir." Haru glanced at the giant key in his hand. "I'm not exactly sure what a keybearer is."

The man sighed, running a hand through his hair, before sinking down into one of the chairs around the table of the dining room that the three were in. Haru choose to stand before the man, and Dai stood besides her father, carefully watching Sora.

"Just like your old man." He muttered. "No idea what he got himself into." He glanced at his daughter. "Let's follow tradition. You tell him what you know. I'll correct you if you mess up."

Dai nodded, and opened her mouth, but Haru spoke first, just catching something that Dai's father had said.

"Wait. My dad? What do you know about him? He's never left home, has he?" Haru asked, frowning. His father certainly never mentioned going to this strange town.

The father frowned, looking more confused then upset. "Your father's name is Sora, is it not?"

Haru nodded, now taking the older man's expression. "Yes, it is. How did you know that?"

"My father helped your father fight the Heartless when they were kids." Dai piped up proudly, looking as though Haru should not only know this, but should feel rather stupid for not.

"The heartless? Those weird black creatures that attacked me? Father never mentioned this to me." Haru was now frowning in irritation. If these two were telling the truth (and the evidence was starting to pile up on their side), then his father had kept quite a few things from him. And he didn't like that.

"Well, my father did, so I'll update you." Dai said, and started talking in a very important manner, to make sure that Haru knew that this was something he needed to pay attention to.

"The heartless are just that; beings without hearts. They long for hearts, however, and will not stop their quest to take the hearts of everyone until they are destroyed. They can overwhelm worlds, take them over with darkness. When that happens, you'll see a star in the sky disappear. That's a sign. In order to protect worlds from the darkness, the keyhole to the heart of the world must be locked, ensuring the survival of the worlds. That's what your father did; seal the hearts of the worlds."

And she continued on, telling Haru about the worlds that his father traveled to, how he battled Ansem, the controller of the heartless. And how after that, the heartless left, disappearing back into Kingdom Hearts.

"Until now. Someone has re-opened Kingdom Hearts, and the heartless are back. That means that the keybearer is needed again. We thought it'd choose your father again But it appears that it is your turn." Dai's father explained.

Dai gave a pointed glance at him, obviously trying to convey something. Her father was not interested in the message, however, as he chose to ignore her.

"My turn?" Haru sputtered out. "But! I hardly know anything about fighting. My wooden sword didn't even affect them!"

"That's because it was a wooden sword." Dai explained, smirking. "Your keyblade should affect them quite well." Then she gave a yet more pointed glance at her father. "Though, of course, you'll still need to have people to come fight with you. You can't very well do it alone."

"Dai," There was a tone in her father's voice that made it clear to Haru that this subject had been discussed many times before. "The Heartless aren't a game. You could be hurt." And, his tone took a pointed edge. "Not to mention your mother would kill me."

"On the contrary Leon," A voice appeared behind the bickering father and daughter. "I would kill you for not letting her go."

A woman appeared, in an apron and holding a splattered spatula. This had to be Dai's mother, their face's were nearly identical. And so was their frown, as they glared at Leon, Dai's father.

"You and I both fought the Heartless." She pointed out. "Now the keybearer has appeared, it's her time."

"If you recall," Leon replied, and once again Haru got the feeling he had mentioned this before. "Both of us were older then she is now."

Haru was starting to feel very awkward, in the middle of the family argument. He stepped backwards a little, making for the door. He had heard what he needed to know, maybe if they were too busy talking to notice him...

"Sora wasn't. And look at what he did." Dai's mother pointed out.

Haru stopped, glancing at her. He'd like to hear more about his father, as it seemed that he hadn't been quite truthful to his son about his past, and these people were much more willing to include him in the loop.

"..." Leon gave a small sigh, running his hand through his hair again. Finally, he turned to his daughter. "Ask Hiroshi to come with you."

Dai seemed to deem this a sacrifice not worth fight the Heartless. "Hiroshi! Dad, I don't want to take him. I don't like him. He's too quiet. He never smiles! Neither does his dad. It's creepy. They just stare at you with those squinty blue eyes of theirs." At this, she scrunched her face into a frown, demonstrating the two she spoke of staring.

Leon frowned, and his tone showed serious disapproval. "Dai, Cloud is my friend, and we've been through a lot together. You shouldn't speak that way about either of them. They have their reasons, and you will do well to leave them alone." Leon's face looked even more serious. "Furthermore, I will only allow you to go only if Hiroshi goes as well."

Dai glanced at her mother, and Haru looked as well. It seemed to him that Dai was hoping that she might try to change this decree.

However, she was greatly disappointed. "I'm sorry, Dai. Your father is right. You need three people, and Hiroshi is a very good fighter. He's loyal, and he'll help you."

"Um..." For the first time in a while, Haru finally dared to speak out. "I have a friend who was with me when the darkness came over us." He glanced at all of them hopefully. "Have you seen him?"

Dai looked optimistic. "Well, if he's here, then he can come with us. It'd only be right, seeing as he's your friend." She gave a sharp glance at her father, whose frown only deepened.

"I have not heard of a newcomer here, save you." He told Haru. "What does he look like?"

"Well, his name is Kenji, and he has silver hair, almost as long as yours, sir. Only he keeps it in a pony-tail, for some odd reason. And he has black pants, blue vest, and blue shoes. His eyes are kinda blue and kinda green at the same time. He's about a year older then me, and an inch or so taller." Haru explained, warming up to his topic as he thought about finding his friend. Did he have a story to tell!

To his surprise, it was Dai's mom who acted first. Her eyes, which had the same expression adults had when they felt sorry for kids but couldn't help them, had suddenly sharpened and narrowed into an intent glare. "Do you know Kenji's parents?"

"Sure," Haru replied, rather curious at this question. What did Kenji's parents have to do with anything? "They're pretty nice. His mom gives me food sometimes, even if I've already eaten." He said, deciding not to tell them that she often had to yell at her son to keep Haru's food from being taken.

"Do you know their names?" She asked again, with strained patience. From the looks that Dai and her father shot at the mother, and each other, this was not her usual manner. Haru swallowed slightly, and thought back.

"Uh. His father's name is, uh. Started with an R. Rika? Riko?" Haru shot out, looking at the woman apprehensively. Sure enough, her face paled slight.

"Riku?"

"Yeah, that's it!" Haru confirmed, noting that this didn't seem to make her happier. He wondered if he should've just told her had didn't know. It seemed the information wasn't good information.

"And his mother?"

Haru knew this well, having to occasionally listen to talks between his mother and Kenji's. "Chiyo."

Now Leon was looking alarmed at his wife, though there was a closure there that said that the questions explained his wife's behavior to him. Dai, also lacking her former confusion, instead now seemed intent on burning a hole through Haru by glaring at him with an intensity that made the red-head inch further to the door.

What'd I do? I didn't mean to make Dai's mom made. I just did what she told me to do! Haru thought to himself, as he made it to the hall that led to the door.

Dai glanced at her parents. Leon now was standing next to his wife, whispering into her ear. Whatever it was, it was making her much happier, and she was starting to smile.

"Ugh. Mushy stuff." She grumbled, then stalked in Haru's direction. "Well, I'm off, you two! Have fun!"

"Bye, Dai!" Her mother called, now grinning. "Beat up those heartless!"

She walked past Haru, and swung open the door. Then she glanced at Haru. "Well?"

Before he could do anything, she grabbed his wrist and he found himself being dragged off again.

"I guess we have to go get Hiroshi."

And so, in the next chapter you'll get to meet Hiroshi! I think this went a bit slower, maybe too slow? Ah, I can't get it right. --; I was going to continue until they got off of Traverse Town, but it was getting long, and... Oh well. Hope you liked, I'll try to keep the next chapter from being too short.