AN: Konnichiwa and welcome to the fourth chapter of my story! Yes, these chapters be coming out fast - I have 22 days until I'm on my way to Arizona, and around that time I probably won't be sure when I'll get the next chapters out. Well, it is summer, but none of my friends live around my neighborhood, so I'm just going to waste all my ideas for this story. Note to all- Raine doesn't remember any of her past at Hallow Bastion, okay? That's why she sounds confused and doesn't know who the 'Whisperer' is - the darkness wiped away her memory. Thanks for listening!

Disclaimer: Raine: Since Shadow has gotten sick and tired of saying this, she doesn't own any terms affliated with Kingdom Hearts, only the characters she creates and her own ideas. Got it? Good.

Thanks: Ikana Sesato (Raine: I want a latte, I'm comin' with ya, Rayne... Me: Thanks again! D)

And the point I am currently at is my waking. I'm not exactly sure what is going on...you see, all I have told you so far is what I have experienced - my future is uncertain from this point. Rather, I'm not sure if it's my premiditated subconsious that's telling you this, or perhaps I am awake and telling you this all. No...that has to be improbable - I'm dreaming again.

I blinked awake. The place I was in happened to be some sort of alleyway, complete with graffiti that seemed incredibly immaculate. It was plenty dark, and I was leaning up against some wooden boxes - as if someone had set me there intentionally. I don't know where I am. I'm hungry, I'm dirty, I'm losing my mind...though everything seems fine. I miss Haze all ready - he isn't here with me, and it gave me an apprehensive feeling in the pit of my stomach. Where could he have gone? I thought I had seen him...wait, no, that was not Haze. It was a man. Yes, a man - the man that was in my dreams, in my thoughts? The dreams that I had when I was smaller, when I was still inexperienced and young?

It had to be him.

I stood and instantly reached for anything that could possibly hold me up. My knees went weak and I just ended up collapsing in a heap on the ground. The clothing I wore was unfamiliar to me - different from the skintight black suit I had worn to blend in with the darkness. Both suit and knee-length boots were replaced by a plain black and white jersey-type tanktop that arrived just five inches below my hips over a white t-shirt, which were over tight black knee-length capris. Black, wristlength gloves encircled my hands - fitting perfectly to the contours. The boots I wore now were ankle-length and tied tightly, and I also wore what looked like socks. Not bad. My hair was down out of the low-hanging unruly ponytail I usually wore it in, and I couldn't help but twirl my fingers in the tresses and examine them with curious eyes. Well, not everything can be perfect, can it?

'I wonder where I am...' I said these words aloud as I clambered to my feet and straightened up, then winced and stooped down. 'Ah...fate, must your travel be so cruel...?'

I managed to straighten myself without heaving, and took slow, cautious steps toward the bend in the alleyway, rounding the corner and walking out into the light. Hmmm, it wasn't as bright as I thought it was - a pleasant glow against a dark background. I stared in awe. Yes, my assumptions were correct - I was indeed in a town, and a very large town at that. The area that stretched from the top of the stairs I stood at to the large, wide doors at the end must have been over 500 yards long. A good 550, if I could estimate the length.

'I'm in another world...' I murmured to myself, only to look around for any people that I could question.

Soft, quiet footsteps pulled up behind me and I whirled, fist drawn back, ready to attack if they dared touch me. I instantly dropped my hand at the sight of this person. A young, curvaceous woman clad in a pink dress, purple belt, and brown boots. The thing, however, that really caught me offguard was her eyes. Glowing brilliant green, framed by the softest tendrils of brown, wide and innocent. I took a step away from her, wary. She could be some sort of...enemy, despite her weak looks.

'Hello...' She said softly. Her voice was quiet and feminine. 'Are you lost, little girl?'

'I'm 14 years old, lady. I'm most certainly not little,' I stared up at her defensively. Just because I was of a smaller, lither form than her did not mean I was what she called a little girl. 'What is this place and who are you?'

'This place, as you put it, is called Traverse Town. It's a place people come to for shelter when their worlds are destroyed.' She smiled in a friendly way. 'My name is Aerith, but some people also know me as Aeris. What's yours?'

'Raine.' I said shortly, looking around. 'No nicknames.'

'Ah, I see...well, how did you arrive here, and what happened? I'm sure I can get someone to help you.'

'My world wasn't attacked by the darkness - the darkness attacked me and my older brother but left the world alone. It was already submersed in darkness, anyways. That's how I ended up here.'

'Oh, you poor girl!' She exclaimed with a sympathetic look in my direction. Maybe I'll just use this to my advantage - after all, being all alone in a little town like that is rather unnerving.

'Have you seen a taller teenage boy with white hair, my color eyes, and darker skin than my own?' Ah yes, speaking of my brother reminded me to ask her if she'd seen him. Worry built up in my heart, or what was left of it. Where had he gone off to?

'No, I'm sorry, Raine, but I haven't seen him.' Aerith looked down at me. 'Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you come back to the hotel with me? I'm sure we can figure out when or exactly how we can get you to a good place.'

All right. Picture this. A kind-looking lady you've just met invites you back to her house to 'figure out when or exactly how we can get you to a good place'. Of course, you would probably decline, wouldn't you? The instincts are built into a child at a young age, even before they are born. Like a Hansel and Gretal story... I felt these intuitions rise up, threatening to consume my sense of reason. She didn't look dangerous...I could defeat her in a single move if she dared to try and do anything. The 'anything' that I have mentioned - I don't know what I speak of, but I'm sure you get the picture.

'Sure.' I watched her face light up.

'Good! Then I won't have to walk through the District by myself like last time...' She smiled cheerfully at me, and surprisingly, grabbed my hand and started to pull me down the street. I stared up at her, stunned as my eyes widened slightly. A small sparking warmth flooded into my hand...strange. 'Oh my, your hands are so cold, Raine.'

'Well, it's not every day that someone grabs onto it and starts dragging me down the street...' I muttered, more to myself as my cheeks flushed with embarassment. I know we looked nothing like mother and daughter - though people kept looking at us and smiling as Aerith chatted animatedly.

I kept glancing around nervously as she pulled me through the streets and down the stairs. As we walked, Heartless began to emerge from the ground. I lowered sharp eyes to their sniveling forms and thus took a step forward, while Aerith began to back up. The Heartless cringed as I reached blindly for my weapon - oh no. Haze...he had it. My eyes widened slightly as the small creatures sensed my sudden discomfort, and grew bolder. Eyes clenching closed, I reached out blindly in the depths of my heart...

...And I saw a light.

Sightlessly, I gritted my teeth and then plunged into that light. The feeling of soft, comforting hands stroking my hair, and a gentle feminine voice...warmth...everything that made me smile, that made me suddenly relax into those comforting hands. I opened my eyes, and the Heartless were sliding away from me. I held something in my hand. I raised it to my sight, and gasped once I saw it.

It was a Keyblade.

I couldn't believe it. I...having all of this darkness in my heart...have a Keyblade. But how? I thought that even I...was not worth holding this weapon, a precious Keyblade, only worthy of a person that holds a pure heart. And my heart...it was the farthest thing from pure, wasn't it? The darkness hadn't touched it, but I had control over it - would that make my heart pure, or tainted? Shoving these issues aside, I proceeded to look down at it, hand numbly clutching the handle.

It was quite smoothly shaped for a key. The 'key' part of it was shaped into a crown, while the slimmer part thinned into a black square-shaped outer handle, while the actual handle was silver, as the blade was. In short - it looked like a regular silver key with a black handle - but what did they call it, exactly? I had to have a name for it... My eyes widened slightly as I gazed down at it...wait...I know what to call it. A black and silver key...the Twilight Keyblade. A key of twilight. The Heartless drew my attention when Aerith started to whimper. Ah yes...I toed my way in front of her and the little creatures stopped.

'Do you seriously think you can get in front of me, and attack this woman?' Standing protectively in front of Aerith, I brandished the weapon with a smile. I wouldn't be able to use my dark powers in front of her...might as well make do with the Keyblade. 'Think again, Shadows...if you have brains, that is.'

They chittered threateningly at me, otherwise twitching and writhing, nearly dancing by how they moved. I'd memorized those movements so long ago, their 'strategies', and their abilities - this would be a piece of cake, as you people today say. More Heartless surfaced around me. Ah, so they were going to make it a challenge. My grip tightened on the handle of the Keyblade before I rushed forward, and with three single sweeps, destroyed half of the Heartless. They were only the baby Heartless - they were too easy to beat. Hissing at me, one gathered back for a spring, and instinctively, I gestured at it, letting my temper and power rise. A dark glow surrounded my hands and I growled threateningly at the little creatures. They fled as if I had set them all on fire, and straightening, I held the Keyblade tightly in my hands.

'Raine?' Aerith's cautious voice came from behind me, and I turned around to face her. 'Gods, child, I had no idea you were a Keyblade Master!'

'Yeah, well I didn't know either.' I lifted the weapon and it dissapated into thin air. 'I guess after my brother took the weapon I was using, the Fates had to replace it with something else.'

'No...' Aerith shook her head, green eyes wide. 'Having a Keyblade only means that your heart is strong enough and has good intention to wield it. You've been blessed, child.'

'I don't know if you'd call it a blessing. More like a burden. Come on, we should get back to that hotel you were talking about, shouldn't we?' I glanced at her over my shoulder - she looked as if she was in awe. 'What! Stop staring at me like that...'

Aerith shook her head with a smile, and then we began to walk again. What surprised me was that no more Heartless happened to pop up while we were out there - no casualities, luckily. I don't know how to take care of a wounded person, let alone a person wounded by Heartless claws. Only Maleficent, I thought with displeasure, could heal my wounds when I got hit by the Heartless...but I don't remember how exactly she did. I remember her using some sort of...lotion? Something cold and wet, that's for sure...it stung...hmmm...I guess I'll have to think on it later on, once I'm alone... Aerith took my hand again, and this time I didn't seem to mind. The warmth that came from her fingers was kind of...nice. And I hadn't felt 'nice' in a very long time, or rather, had any of those feelings.

Emotions. They were enigmas to me now. I don't really remember having feelings while I was in the darkness with that witch...had I ever had feelings before? The strange feelings of love, relief, insecurity that someone had told me about while I was asleep, the voice of the Whisperer as he spoke his gentle words, rocking me to sleep like I was a small child? What did emotions feel like when you felt them? These questions don't even make sense to me...I wonder why I'm even asking them. Probably because I'm overly curious, I guess. That's one think I could say about myself.

We turned down a street and entered a set of double doors in which a glowing sign resided over - Hotel. How insipid...they could have at least made the sign attractive. Aerith led me into a room down the hall - and surprisingly, we weren't alone. No, there were two more people there - an older man and a younger teenage girl. The older man had a long scar running down his face, two dark azure eyes, and shoulder-length, nearly spiky-looking brown tresses running downwards. He also had tanned skin, though a shade lighter than Haze's. The younger teen girl had short black hair, dark eyes, and clear, pale skin, at least, paler than the man standing beside her. I guess she liked pastel colors...because she was certainly wearing a lot of them. The man beside her wore either black, red, or white. Simple.

Aerith gave the one in black a smile and then pushed me forward a bit. I stood there for a moment, meeting his gaze with my own defiant one while he seemed to probe my mind for any dark intentions. I had none...for now. The little teenager seemed to just stare at me as if she recognized me...and as if she didn't know who I was. Why couldn't these people make up their minds? Aerith cleared her throat, drawing their attention to her.

'Leon, Yuffie...this is Raine.'

AN: Huzzah, yet another chapter has been finished due to my lack of anything to do and my willingness to continue this story with a passion! ( Eye gleam! ) Gah, I hate when things get piled up and their left undone - 'sides, I like to continue stories...But anyways, thanks for reading the fourth chapter for me...hopefully I'll get some good comments - I need some constructive critique, j00 know what I mean?

Raine: Oh, I'll give you some destructive critique... (Rips notebook in which this story is in into pieces, sets the remains on fire, flies to Japan, and lets the ashes fly off on the winds and into the sea. A shark then proceeds to eat the ashes)

Me: O.O Raine, YOUR story was in there!

Raine: Yeah, well I don't like Aerith...Leon's cute, though. Take Aerith out and I'll be niiice...

Me: Aww...that's an opportunity I don't want to miss, but...

Leon: (Blushes and begans to mutter threats in his amazingly monotonous but cool voice) Shut up, kid...

Raine: My name's Raine, princess.

Leon: (Twitches)

Aerith: Why don't you like me, Raine! (Glitter hearts stars love yayisms uber glompages of love and joy and happiness and light and fluffy stuff and kittens and dogs!)

Raine: That's why. (Walks off)