Author's Note-Sorry, I tried to get it out before Halloween and I just couldn't make it. -sigh- But I didn't get the chapter out ridiculously late, which I suppose is an improvement. I dunno, life's been getting really complicated lately. A real mess. But I write on, and so hopefully I won't get the next chapter out late. I'm still debating on whether to put up 'Eyes That Cannot See', though... Hm... By the way, I don't know why I these lawyers keep coming. I already said that I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I've caught five in my bear traps already and they just keep coming. Are they not listening to me? –sigh- Oh well. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews so far, they're greatly appreciated. So now that I've to the next chapter out, read and review!
Complete and utter pandemonium. That was the only real way to describe it. It was a small shop. A small shop with a huge battle taking place.
Riku 'looked' up from the battle to see a figure standing in the doorway, a small, faint, stream of light floating in the dark shadow of the man. It has to be him. He's the one that's probably causing it, the one controlling the Heartless. Got to go after him, he thought. He made his way through the fighters and the monsters, praying that he wouldn't get hit by one of the flying bullets.
He suddenly felt a slight sting in his waist, ignored it, felt something brush against his arm, ignored it, pulled his staff back, and swung. The metal staff connected to the guy's head and the man dropped to the floor like a brick. The small shadows, the Heartless, began to close in around Riku. He spun to face them. Impossible. It would be impossible to have victory without injury with the puny little staff that he carried.
One on one? Yeah. Two on one? Maybe. Six to eight on one? ...No chance in hell...
Still, he got into stance, ready to fight to the death if that was what it was ready to come down to, when a blade swooped though the air, slicing all of the Heartless around him in a shining arc of light.
"Can't take my eyes off you for a second, can I, kid?" Yukiro said, sounding much like an older brother.
"Tch. Whatever." Riku said.
Now with ease, the others quickly finished off the rest of the Heartless. With their leader knocked unconscious, they had ceased to continue multiplying. Barret dragged the unconscious man inside and slammed the door behind them.
"'Should've known that Rufus was the one leading the Heartless in Midgar..." He gruffed, dropping the blonde man.
It was then that Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie burst into the room. "Barret? Red? Are you guys okay?" Wedge asked.
Barret glared at them. "Yeah. Now what the hell took you all so long?!" he demanded.
"Sorry, Barret. The door got stuck again. I told you that we really need to get that thing fixed." Jessie sighed. She looked over at Rufus's limp figure and stared. "...What's Rufus doing passed out on our floor...?" she asked.
"Apparently he's the one controlling the Heartless." Red spoke up.
Yukiro and Vincent exchanged glances, nodding once.
"What is it?" Red asked.
"He is a Dark Knight." Vincent said.
Red seemed to smile a perceptive cat smile, as if he knew exactly who they were from the very start and what was going on. But then, maybe he did. Who knew? "The Dark Knights disappeared five hundred years ago. As did the White Knights and the Kingdom Gaia, Kingdom Hearts, and Kingdom of the Cosmos. Rufus is only twenty-nine."
"Dark Knights are non-existent-they are not truly alive. The body is not real but only mere illusion." Yukiro said.
"Sure as hell was heavier than just an illusion." Barret grumbled.
"Maybe he's a descendant?" Biggs suggested.
"Wait a minute, what's all this about Dark Knights?" Wedge asked. "I mean, one minute we're standing here talking about Rufus. Then the next minute, we're talking about this."
"That's what the hell I would like to know!" Barret agreed. "I am completely lost now."
Yukiro and Vincent again exchanged glances. Pause. Finally a sigh from Yukiro. "Well, you see..." he started to explain.
However, all of this was growing fainter and fainter to Riku's keener ears. As the seconds ticked by, he started to feel increasingly detached. Lightheaded. He managed to ignore it, to push it away, until his third eye-or Heart's Eye, as it was known to some, apparently-began to blur.
Dammit! he thought. What's wrong with me?! I only feel a dull ache in my waist and on my ar- Wait. In a strangely calm and quiet voice, he said to white-haired boy, "Yukiro."
"Hm?" Yukiro asked, glancing over at the younger boy.
"Am I wounded at all?"
Yukiro studied him for a minute. Suddenly-
"Shit! Riku, you-"
At that moment, everything suddenly became darkness once more...
-----
With caution, Kiyoshi crept to the door and the glowing, neon sign. Quietly he pushed open the two large doors, the doors protesting slightly with an old, used, low groan. However, the boy was silent as he crossed the threshold into what was apparently the Third District. He walked past the closed, lit window to what he assumed must have been a house or a shop. As he stepped down the stairs slowly, he looked around, gazing at the colorful neon lights that reminded him so much of the city streets at home.
But, he reminded himself, this isn't home.
It definitely wasn't home. No, this place was completely empty, or so it seemed. Had it been daylight with a couple of people walking around, it may have been a cozy little town. Maybe. But with unfamiliar structures looming up as shadows in the darkness like monsters and giants, the setting was nowhere next to comfortable. Quite the contrary, actually.
The silence was so eerie. Kiyoshi could've sworn that it made even his quiet ninja movements sound loud. The lit-up fountain in the corner seemed lifeless, broken, still. A broken pipe wire sparked like a light in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory. Kiyoshi felt a slight chill that he couldn't just shake off run up his spine.
Why are you so afraid?! You're a ninja, for godsakes! People should be afraid of you! A part of himself demanded. "Ninja in training," he corrected, saying it to himself in a soft mutter.
Why were there no people in this town? What had happened to all of them? Could they possibly all be-
"Ah!" Kiyoshi yelped as a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He spun on his heel to face this new foe, automatically getting into fighting stance. What he saw was a girl that was dressed much like what was known by a few of his friends in his classes as a 'preppy.'
She wore a green top and short khaki shorts, and tied around her neck was a yellow scarf. Not that it was cold or anything. Huh, Kiyoshi thought. Must be for decoration or something. Of course, as a ninja, he knew that he had to expect the unexpected. Observing the girl a bit more, he could see in the dark night that her hair was short and black, and that she had a smile on her face that looked naturally mischievous. Yeah. She looked harmless, but was she really? Kiyoshi knew almost better than anyone than to judge by appearances. His mom and one of his uncles were both tiny-no more than 5'2 and almost scrawny, judging by first glance, and yet both were highly skilled in the art of the sword. His mother is where Sakura had learned her swordsmanship from, after all.
"So, you're the kid. Cloud and Squall have been looking all over for you, you know." The girl said, undaunted and even somewhat amused at Kiyoshi's readiness to fight.
The names 'Cloud' and 'Squall' nearly threw Kiyoshi off stride for a moment, but then he decided he could think about that later as he shook his head.
"Now, c'mon. Let's get you back to the others." The girl said, starting towards him.
Kiyoshi stood firmly in stance. "No way!" he shot back.
The girl sighed. "C'mon... Don't make me drag you..." she whined.
"As if I would let you? I'm not as helpless as you may think I am." Kiyoshi shot back.
"Heh. Oh really?"
"Yeah. I'm trained in the art of ninjutsu."
This only made the girl's grin grow wider. "Ninjutsu, huh?"
Kiyoshi frowned a bit more, his concern growing more and more by the second. He then responded a bit hesitantly, "Yeah. That's what I said, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Though I hate to tell you this, Mr. Ninja, but your stance is a little off. You have to turn your left foot at least ten degrees to your right if you want to make any kind of effective attack. And your stance is just a little too wide... Hm... Yeah, I could critique more, but this isn't the time or the place for that right now." The girl said smugly, her grin turning into a slight smirk.
Kiyoshi looked down, then fixed his stance with a bit of embarrassment. He frowned up at the girl again, but this time more with confusion. "How do you...know all of this...?" he questioned.
The girl grinned at him once again. "Surprise, surprise, kid. Because I'm a ninja, too."
-----
"Stupid monkeys! Put me down! Put! Me! Down!" Sora cried, kicking and flailing whenever he could get a limb free-an arm, a leg, anything. The monkeys had tossed him until he ended up in a temple. They tossed him up and up, higher and higher. Sora caught a glimpse of the stone floor and all the things on it growing smaller and smaller as he was thrown up into the air, too high!
One monkey caught him before gravity could by grabbing the chain to his necklace, choking him for a minute, then grabbed his hood so that he wouldn't die. Sora coughed weakly, trying to regain his breath and grabbing at his collar so as not to be strangled.
"Do you want to be put down now, mancub?" the monkey teased.
Sora glanced down at the ground below and the color drained from his face. "N-no..." he half whispered, half squeaked. The monkey threw back his head and laughed. Of course, monkey see, monkey do, so naturally, the entire temple was soon filled with laughter.
"I like this kid. He can hang around with us." The monkey said, tossing Sora over to another monkey, stealing Sora's necklace in the process and draping it around his own neck.
"Thanks, but can we do it without the literal hanging part?!" Sora demanded. "And give me back my necklace!"
"Alright, alright, no more hanging," said the monkey that was currently holding him. He then grinned and let go.
Sora fell. He fell, farther, faster. His eyes widened in fear, he could almost see himself splatting on the stone floor-
A hand suddenly grabbed the back of his hoodie. Another monkey hand. Sora looked around, then back down. His feet were scarcely an inch from the floor. The brunette swallowed hard, then looked around again. The monkey released him, and he landed, barely even noticing the distance.
The boy focused on the throne that was before him and made of stone, as everything else was in this place, apparently, and the live monkey sitting on it. The monkey on the throne grinned.
"Hey there, mancub. I'm King Louie, and this is my castle." He said.
"Yeah? Well what's the big idea? Tossin' me around like that..." Sora demanded.
"We were just playin' around." The monkey whose name seemed to be King Louie said innocently and casually.
"Playing around?! You just about got me killed!" Sora exclaimed incredulously.
The monkey king ignored that comment and said, "I need your help. In exchange, I will give you your necklace back and I'll have you taken back to your friends. Also, I'll give you...this." The monkey said, presenting a three-point card.
A three-point card that had a small shimmering heart at the top.
Sora reached out for the card, for some reason drawn to it, but the monkey snatched it away. "Uh, uh, uh!" King Louie said.
"What is it that you want?" Sora asked.
The monkey king grinned. "To learn how to make fire."
Author's Note-Um...not much to put here, I pretty much said everything above. I shall try to have the next chapter out soonish, though. Hopefully in less than a week. So please review, it'll motivate me a lot more and get me to writing more faster. Ja ne!