Author's Note-Heh, I guess it's like my mom said: feast or famine. My writing had been going a bit slow recently, but currently I've been writing a lot, riding out the inspiration burst I've gotten. And yes, Hyotoko is a bit of a twit, lol. But so long as it helps Sakura, right? Or at least that's what he thinks… Anyways, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Now enough of my rambling. Enjoy the chapter…

Tam blinked, then shrugged. "Eh, I've seen weirder…" she said. Taro stared at her.

"Where?!" he asked.

Tam looked caught off guard for a moment, as if she hadn't realized at first that she had spoken aloud, then recovered. "Highschool." She replied quickly.

Taro nodded in agreement. "Ah." He said.

The bear frowned. "Who are these kids? They're not Mowgli…"

"Smart, ain't he?" Taro asked, raising an eyebrow.

The bear glared at the blonde. "Now listen here, you little-"

"Maybe we should ask them what they're doing here." The cat interrupted, stopping a real fight from breaking out.

"We're looking for a keyhole." Tam said before anybody could stop her. "We're trying to stop the Heartless from destroying this world."

The bear's face lit up. "You're getting rid of the Heartless? Well that's great! Bagheera, you hear that? They're getting rid of the Heart-"

"I heard them, Baloo, I heard them. I'm standing right here." Bagheera said.

Taro blinked and looked over at Tam and Sora questionably. "So what? They're on our side?" he asked.

"More to the point, who exactly is 'they?'" Tam wondered, eyeing the cat and the bear, then all of the monkeys around them.

"Either way, those monkeys have my necklace and...something else…" Sora said.

Tam and Taro blinked over at him. "Something else?" Taro asked.

"Like what?" Tam questioned.

"Like…I dunno what it is." Sora admitted, shaking his head. "But I have this feeling. It's important somehow. I think it has something to do with my former life. My past."

"You mean this little thing?" King Louie asked skeptically, holding up the card.

Sora nodded. "That's exactly what I mean." he replied seriously.

Taro glanced over at the card, then back at Sora. "But what good can a card do you?"

"I don't know. I really don't know. But it may trigger some sort of memory or something. At this point, I'm about ready to try anything…" Sora said.

Taro turned to the monkey king. "You hear that? We need to borrow that card." He said.

King Louie held a hand out. "Now hold it, hold it, hold it. Do ya think I'm just gonna give it away for free?" he asked.

"They're not going to teach you how to make fire." Bagheera said, rolling his eyes.

"Fine, fine. Then we make a new deal." King Louie said.

Sora blinked. "Like what?" he asked.

"Get those Heartless out of my jungle. And get rid of Shere Khan." The monkey king replied.

"King Louie, you can't be serious. These three are only mancubs. You can't possibly expect them to-" Bagheera was cut off by Taro.

"Shere Khan? Who's this Shere Khan guy?" the blonde asked.

"You don't know who Shere Khan is?" Baloo asked in disbelief.

"-.-; We're a little foreign." Taro replied.

"Just a little bit." Tam seconded, nodding in agreement.

"Shere Khan is the ruthless tiger of this jungle who likes to hunt down and eat mancubs." Bagheera explained.

"That guy?" Tam asked, dismissing the subject with a wave of her hand. "We took care of that guy a long way back. No biggie."

"You took care of Shere Khan?!" Bagheera exclaimed.

"That's what I just said, isn't it? Anyway, that's one half of the deal taken care of already. Hand over the card or the necklace, Monkey-Boy." Tam said, holding her hand out expectantly. Disgruntled, the thieving monkey from earlier tossed her the necklace. Smirking, Tam caught it and tossed it to Sora.

Sora caught the necklace and put it back on, smiling over at Tam gratefully. "So to get the card, all we have to do is get rid of the Heartless, right?"

"You got it." King Louie replied.

"No problem. That's why we're here anyway." Tam said.

Taro nodded. "That and to find my friends." He added.

"Then let's get going!" Sora exclaimed.

"Hey, you kids! I'll go with you!" Baloo said.

Taro sweatdropped. "…You're kidding, right?" he asked.

"Of course not. I can be your guide to get you to where you need to go in this jungle. And besides, I still have to find Mowgli." Baloo retorted.

"I should go, too, then." Bagheera sighed, rolling his eyes a bit, hardly even wanting to think about the trouble they might would get into if the poor mancubs went out into the forest alone with him. They'd probably be lost forever at the least, eaten at the worst.

Tam rolled her eyes. "Well, now that we've got our party of freaks organized, now let's get going." She said, starting off. She then stopped, looking back at King Louie over her shoulder. "Have your payment ready. We'll be back soon." She said, then started off again. The others blinked and followed, leaving the grumbling king and subjects.

Taro suddenly sneezed. Tam glanced over at him, rolling her eyes at him. "Don't tell me you're allergic to cats or bears or whatever." She said.

"No… At least, I don't think so…" Taro replied, frowning.

"Then somebody's talking about you." Tam said with a nod.

Taro blinked, then sighed. "Maybe it's one of the friends that I'll never see again." He said glumly.

Tam frowned. "Hey now, cheer up. You're never going to find them with an attitude like that." She said.

Taro paused, then shook his head. "I'm sorry. My friends are only lost. You don't have anyone though, do you?" he asked.

Tam shrugged. "Well, at least I'm not completely alone. I have Sora. And I have you. And I'll admit, it's better than nobody, I guess." She said. "I mean, it could've been worse. I could be dead by now, but I'm not. You know?"

Taro nodded. "I guess you've just gotta be grateful for what you have." He mused.

Tam nodded. "I guess so…" she said.

"Hey, you guys! C'mon!" Sora called, waving back at the two. Tam and Taro looked around, noticing for the first time that they had fallen behind.

"Okay, coming, Sora!" Tam called back. She smiled over at Taro. "Let's hurry it up. We're falling behind." She said before running to catch up with the brunette and the two animals. Taro blinked, then smiled, shook his head, and followed.

Author's Note-Wow, a whole chapter out of just all this. Is it just me, or does it sound like Tam should be in some kind of syndicate or mafia or whatever, lol? Apparently she knows what she's doing…at least more so than the guys… -smiles and sweatdrops- But this chapter was a bit short because I'm planning a longer one next. Don't worry, DemonSurfer, your wish will soon be granted (but I'm not gonna give anything away.) So just stick around, please review, and I shall have the next chapter out soonish. (And that's a promise that's not hard to keep because now I pretty much just have to type it.) If anything slows me down, it will be endof course tests. And even then, I'll trynot o let it effect my home life andauthor lifetoo much.Well, ja ne!