Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS AND YOU KNOW IT. ;D Thank you very much for listening.
A/N: The ninth chapter is finally here! Okay, in many of the reviews, I can see that a lot of you think that Toshi is Trinity's brother. Hah. You guys really think so? Well, the truth will be revealed in the next chapter... maybe then you will change your mind? Ah, well. Anyway, sorry... this chapter is not entirely special... I suppose it's just leading to the next chapter. This, I guess, is just a lot of searching, a lot of hopelessness, a lot of... uh, you get the idea. Alrighty, then. With that said... ON WITH THE CHAPTER!
xoxo Bianca.
Intertwined Destinies
Chapter Nine.
Sora sighed again, he had been outside for a few minutes and there was still no sign of the Keyblade. But after all, it had been only a few minutes. The ill feeling he had deep inside had grown into a ravenous monster, devouring his faith and placing the sense of full hopelessness in his heart. He was disappointed in himself. There was no one to blame... but himself.
Looking around at the place where he had not been at for such a long time, Sora remembered all the Heartless he had fought, and all the people he had met. He remembered the Moogles, how they were so randomly dotted around town and how they had their little workshop in which they'd synthesize items to their heart's content. But now, it was deserted... forlorn... with practically nothing in it but the gloom of a once-lively but now dead-like town.
Sora walked along some bushes, making sure that he did not fully pass them until he was absolutely convinced that his Keyblade was not there. He even looked up at the trees, inspecting to see if his weapon was supposedly wedged between the branches. There weren't many plants around in Traverse Town, so Sora went on to looking around the buildings and houses of the town.
Of course, majority of the buildings and houses were locked, so Sora didn't get much of a chance to go anywhere indoors. But how would his Keyblade end up inside, anyway? Besides, it was getting darker and darker with every moment.
"Oh, who cares if everything's going to be pitch-black soon? I need to find my Keyblade!" Sora growled to himself, pushing the liberal door leading to Second District.
Sora's eyes wandered around vigilantly, and he came to remember all the different types of Heartless that would emerge out of the blue with no warning. At the moment, there were no Heartless, and Sora profoundly hoped that it would stay that way. He didn't have the Keyblade, obviously, so there'd be no way to fight. Sora then tried to avoid thinking about Heartless because he recalled back at the stained glass place when they had thought of and spoken of Heartless and they mysteriously just had to appear...
Yawning, Sora found himself growing rather weary. When was the last time he had slept? Sora stopped walking, and closed his eyes for a brief moment. The boundless, broad, grassy plains...
Sora blinked his eyes open and resumed his searching. That was quite a while ago. He brought a hand to his mouth in another yawn, and he could hear his jaw crack slightly.
Ugh... thought Sora.
Kairi bent down next to Toshi.
"Oh, my goodness." Kairi poked Toshi at his arm. "What in the world am I supposed to do? I am NOT a doctor! UGH! Why don't they teach us about this stuff in school?"
Kairi paused.
Oh, wait. They did.
She just didn't listen when they did.
Kairi groaned and stuck her tongue out in disgust as she placed two fingers at Toshi's neck.
"How the heck do you find out if someone still has a pulse?" whined Kairi, restraining herself from pulling away from his neck. Eww eww eww... she thought resentfully.
Kairi didn't even feel the slightest pulse, so she moved her fingers to the side a bit. Still nothing. Kairi muttered incoherently to herself and kept trying to feel for a pulse. Kairi finally pulled away and sighed. A thought passed her mind, and her eyes widened. NO PULSE means...!
"OH-MY-GOSH-TOSHI-ARE-YOU-DEAD?"
Sora rubbed at his eyes and shook his head.
"Stay awake, Sora. Stay. Awake."
He was now in Third District, still searching for his Keyblade and feeling very weary, irked, fatigued, stressed, and overwrought. But then he saw the bubbling, golden fountain before him.
Even in the growing darkness, it glowed a celestial, bright-honey color, radiating and shimmering like a blazing star. Behind the fountain was a sculpture made of pure gold, symbolizing the Lady and the Tramp. The Lady's posture looked extraordinarily classy and delicate as she sat next to a very aristocratic-looking Tramp.
Sora walked up to the fountain and kneeled down, dipping his hands into the water. The water felt so nice and a bit invigorating, and as Sora cupped his hands and captured some of the brisk water, he felt a little more refreshed after splashing the liquid on to his face. Getting up and not bothering to wipe at his dripping face, Sora felt more determined and decided not to let the now-darkened Traverse Town keep him from finding his Keyblade.
Sora turned a corner and was slightly appalled to see a door with a symbol resembling a brilliant fireball. Then he remembered: that was the way to Merlin's home. Sora stood before the door, feeling sort of dumb. Should he go in or not?
Sora rolled his eyes, "Pfft, like I'd get in trouble for doing so."
So, with that as his clarification, Sora pushed at the door.
Nothing happened.
Sora pushed again, harder and with all his strength.
Still, the door didn't budge.
After a moment of contemplating, a memory came into mind.
"Oh, that's right." Sora laughed emptily. Now he remembered. Merlin's door wasn't just some ordinary door.
Sora placed his hands upon the door again, and he pushed upwards. The door creaked sparsely and Sora found himself staring into the pensiveness and murkiness of a cave-like place. Stepping forward, Sora's feet came in contact with hard, grainy sand. He advanced a bit more, the rugged sand crunching beneath his shoes. The sight before him became clearer and more familiar feelings came back to him.
Sora was lucky enough not to have stepped forwards a bit more, for if he did he would've found himself in the water. Dingy and swarthy, water was almost everywhere in the cave except for the opening of the place and the secluded house-like figure that appeared stranded in the middle of everything. Large, round, oval-shaped boulders seemed to swish and glide across the waters, all in their own way and not synchronized with each other. Sora almost smiled—he recalled his past attempts of getting across the path of rocks and slipping into the water. But soon enough, he had gotten skilled at it and was able to do it with ease.
He wasn't sure if he could get across easily now. It had been almost two years... had his skills faded?
Sora shrugged. "Hey, why not?"
He took a leap and landed on the first stone. He was wobbly, very wobbly, in fact.
Whoa, he thought. Trying his best to maintain his balance, Sora braced himself and jumped again.
"GAAAH!" Sora's heartbeat increased as he almost lost his footing, which would have had him gurgling in the water. Sora steadied himself, why were the rocks moving so gosh darn fast?
Quite a while later, Sora was at the entrance of Merlin's small home, only slightly wet at the feet. He was about to knock, but then he remembered that no one would be there.
"Duh," grumbled Sora. He ducked under the low opening as he entered the house.
Kairi decided that it would be best not to hyperventilate, but to make sure Toshi was all right and then going off to seek for help.
An idea popped into Kairi's mind and she laughed crudely. "I'm so dumb. Why didn't I think of this before? Jeez." Kairi placed her index finger in front of Toshi's nostrils, and waited.
Kairi felt the slight tickle of air on her finger.
"Okay, so you're alive, then." Kairi muttered as she stood up and stared down at the unconscious Toshi. "Now, to find help."
Kairi looked around, wondering if there were any other people near—but there were none. Exhaling deeply, Kairi thought about going off to find someone for help.
But then she'd have to leave Toshi. Alone. On the ground. Limp. And unconscious. If someone dangerous happened to come around, Toshi wouldn't be able to defend himself. He'd just be alone on the ground. Limp. And unconscious.
Kairi griped to herself, frowning. Why did she even care, anyway? She could leave him here by himself and go off to somewhere safe. Toshi was a jerk. And an idiot. And a moron.
Kairi mentally slapped herself. But just because Toshi had a bad attitude didn't mean she was meant to leave him helpless on the cobblestone ground. Of course, she had to help him, no matter how tactless he was.
Kairi rubbed at her forehead and groaned, "Toshi, you're going to owe me big for this."
After a moment of thinking and debating with herself, Kairi decided that the only thing she could do was leave Toshi and go look for help. No, she couldn't drag him around the whole time. She had to take the risk, and she hoped that there wasn't anyone who meant harm wandering loose around town.
Kairi took a deep breath. It was relatively dark now, and she heard nothing but her own breathing and the simplistic song of the crickets. Taking one last look at Toshi, Kairi pointed a finger at him accusingly.
"Now, Toshi... DON'T. GO. ANYWHERE."
Satisfied, Kairi stuck her hands in her pockets and walked off.
"Wow. This place hasn't changed one bit."
Sora walked around the little room, occasionally trying not to trip over books left carelessly on the floor and cautiously stepping around the worn-out furniture as to not bump into anything. The wizard's abode was cramped, crowded, and a total mess.
"You think Merlin would clean this place up a bit with some magic, but no." Sora mumbled to himself as he explored the cluttered interior.
An idea came into mind, and Sora brightened. "Hey! Maybe there's something here that can help with Trinity's problem."
Looking around thoughtfully, Sora decided to look for a book, or perhaps a few papers, that could possibly aid him and Trinity with the mystery. Walking over to the table in the center, Sora looked over the titles of all the books on the table and found nothing special. Sighing, he turned around and walked to the upper left-most side of the room, where a rather large, bulky bookcase stood, looking old and weary and about to topple over with age.
Sora ran his fingers across the spines of the books, turning his head to the side a little so that he could read the vertical titles of the books. Row after row, Sora searched for something helpful, but as he neared the bottom he grew more and more discouraged.
How To Be A Magician, Warlocks and Witches, 101 Reasons Why You Should Never Anger a Pixie, Hocus Pocus, Your Wand Is Your Best Friend, Tales of Trickery, Wizardry for Dummies...
More, more, more. Book after book, row after row, Sora just couldn't find the right book. If you were to watch him investigating the bookcase, you'd see that his face was getting awfully crimson and that he was repetitively groaning in disdain.
Sora straightened his posture and wrung his hands. "Nothing!" he grouched. "Why couldn't there be some book here called, How To Help Trinity Revive Traverse Town?"
Sora crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Or better yet... How To Help Trinity Revive Traverse Town and Find Your Keyblade and Find Donald and Goofy and Get Back to Destiny Islands with Kairi."
Sora laughed, but it was dripping with unhappiness and his heart wasn't in it.
Then, he yawned.
And afterwards he blinked repeatedly.
He rubbed his eyes.
Upon reopening his eyes, his vision was slightly dense, and he couldn't help yawning again.
Sora stumbled to the side and managed to drop his tired body on to a cushiony, comfortable armchair. He struggled to get up, pushing with his hands and arms at the spongy arms of the chair.
"I have to... have to..." Sora shook his head and forced his eyes open. "... Keyblade... Trinity... book... Traverse... Donald... Riku... Goofy..."
Sora's arm lost their strength and he fell back on to the chair. He squirmed uneasily, trying with all his heart to stay awake... but soon he found himself nodding off, dozing, and then blackness and sleep overtook him.
But not before he whispered, "Kairi."
This was getting so very tiring.
For over the past half hour, Kairi had been knocking on doors, waiting a few minutes to see if someone would answer, and if no one came to the door, she'd turn around and go somewhere else. She'd been to quite a few houses already, but so far no one at all had greeted her.
"What's with this town now?" complained Kairi. "Where is everyone? Why is this place so empty and deserted all of a sudden? Is it me? It's me, isn't it? What have I done? Is it my breath? Do I offend?"
Kairi rolled her eyes. She was becoming a crazy person.
Now, Kairi stood in front of a placid waterway, slightly wavering in the nocturnal stillness of the night. She remembered this place. It was the Secret Waterway. Kairi wondered if she should go in or not. Of course, she was supposed to be looking for help. Kairi shook her head; she'd better go to a place where there'd most likely be people. Perhaps she could return later, but there was a more important matter that had to be taken care of.
So, Kairi turned around and walked away, away to a place where there should most definitely be people. At least, she sure hoped so.
"Well!" Kairi said, looking a bit satisfied as she stood in front of a lengthy building. She somewhat smiled. Oh, yes. There should be people in this place.
Kairi knocked on the door, hoping that it would be her last time doing so and that there would be aid at the other side of the door.
"I mean, really," Kairi mused, looking up to read the blinking, neon letters that stood out in the darkness. "Why wouldn't an inn have people in it?"
REVIEW REPLIES!
Princess Kairi: Ah, the first to assume Toshi is Trinity's brother. We'll all just have to wait for the truth, huh? Anyway, take your time finding a picture of your dogs, I don't really mind how long you take. :) Oh, yes, Sora in the bathtub. Hah! I was wondering what place he should be to, you know, think. So, I seized my opportunity and placed him... in the bathtub! Me? A Sora fan? Let's see... OF COURSE! And since you have a gift or two for Kairi and Toshi, I suppose they want to thank you personally!
Kairi: -squeals and snuggles Sora plushie while biting into cookie- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! -squeals some more-
Toshi: -stuffs mouth with cookies- I appreciate it. Uh, the cookies, I mean. x.o
paopu: EWW, you... you... o.o I won't even bother... HAH, don't worry, I'll slap you later. ;D
Sorasgirl333: Thanks! I'm glad you're loving this. But, technically, that was Chapter Eight and this is Chapter Nine. It's like that because I have a Prologue. x) Still, thank you once again!
BattleAngelKurumi: -gringringrin- I very much enjoyed writing that part! ;) Haha. You're Kairi's hero and Toshi is still grumbling about the whole "cliff" ordeal, but hey, that's Toshi. Heh.Glad you liked the chapter!
carbuncle x3: Well, the Harvest Moon fanfic idea kind of... wore away, if you know what I mean. I don't think I'll be writing one anytime soon anymore, only because I can't get it right in my head, much less start composing one. xD So, yeah. Kairi is thankful for the compliments! Ahh, another reader once again assuming that Toshi is Trinity's sibling. I say once again... that'll be in Chapter Ten. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH for all those reviews on the past chapters -- I really appreciate it.
daaku: It's alright, Alex, maybe you did sounda little sarcastic with the rest of the review cut off but now I know what you really meant! You are so kind, my friend. I don't know if I'm the best writer ever... but I do try. x)
Mysterious Prophetess: Oh, yes. Kairi is sort of known to be strong, though she looks so innocent and frail at times! (Kairi: >>;) Good to know you liked the chapter!
ZestyCruton: -gasp- I sooo do not make him look bad! xD... okay... maybe a bit...
Toshi: FINALLY! SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS!
Sorafanluver: Toshi might be Trinity's brother. But then again, he might not. Hmm... and Sora and Kairi crossing paths? Well, it seems that Kairi's on the doorstep of the Inn and Sora's currently fallen asleep at Merlin's home. Hmm... hmm...