Disclaimer: This may come as a surprise to you, but I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

A/N: 'Ello, guys! Well, it looks like I'm updating sooner than I thought I would. Anyway, a day or two after posting up Chapter Ten I began typing up this chapter, and then I just kept adding more and more and more and more... well, you get the idea. This is my longest chapter yet! And finished in only a few days since I started, wow. I didn't plan on adding this chapter today, but a certain friend of mine (-COUGHDAAKUCOUGH-) constantly kept pressuring me both OFFLINE AND ONLINE to update. So, to get her off my case, I decided that it was time to update. Jeez. So thank HER. -glares at Daaku- xD

xoxo Bianca.

Intertwined Destinies

Chapter Eleven.

After a while of scolding himself and feeling very cruddy, Sora decided to search around Merlin's house a bit more, just in case there was anything he missed. Several minutes passed by and there was no sign of anything even the least bit helpful. So, in a crushed mood, Sora began to exit the wizard's home.

Suddenly, Sora's foot came in contact with an object on the floor. He caught his balance just in time to keep himself from falling over.

"Stupid piece of—" Sora glanced down at what he stumbled over. "Hey!"

Picking up the square-shaped item, Sora identified it as a pocket-sized, worn-out book. The cover of the book was of shabby, black leather with a simple design bordering the edges. As Sora opened the book and quickly flipped through the thin, off-white pages, he realized that it seemed to be a diary... or more like a journal, actually. After skimming through some of the wording, Sora could tell that it was Merlin's journal. He came across the last entry, and his dark blue eyes scanned the intricate curves and loops of Merlin's elaborate handwriting:

January 10

Ah, it seems as though Trinity is catching on rather instantaneously to this sort of paradoxical study.

I have never, in my entire existence, ever witnessed such a strong, audacious will in someone so broken and devastated inside.

In almost one month she has completed the art of handling a wand, the prefixes and suffixes of enchanted articulation, ensorcelled prestidigitation, and the complexity of thaumaturgy.

Trinity is a very bright student, and she is constantly eager to pursue on to more and more magical studies.

It seems as though she is very interested in magic... or is it just her longing to be reunited with her brother once again?

I do not know, and I do not intend to question her.

All I wish is to help this intelligent, brave young lady in any way I can in order to revive her dear brother.

However, she is very most likely unaware of the fact that she will be attempting necromancy—the act of black magic causing interaction with the deceased spirits. It is also... Ah, here we go, a trusty dictionary—

Necromancy: the belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world; conjuring up the dead, especially for prophesying.

Now, I am most certain that her brother is not an 'evil being.' I have seen young Akuji.

What a bold young man he would have been, if not for that unfortunate sickness!

His jokes were rather funny; it was difficult to stifle my chuckles, as I happened to hear one as I often passed by him in town.

No no, he was a fine young boy.

I was there at his funeral, only I lingered off in the distance, murmuring a little prayer.

Though Akuji may have not been an evil being, he is still a deceased spirit, and it is true we are conjuring up the dead.

As for the matter of 'producing unnatural effects in the world,' it is exactly what it states.

If something happens to go awry, then something unnatural and disoriented shall happen to Traverse Town.

Which is why I must be at Trinity's side as she conjures up the magic.

Of course, if I could, I would have done the spells to bring Akuji back myself... but it takes the heart of the person who longs for him the most.

My heart—it is not passionate as Trinity's, it may seem.

Hmm, Trinity has left already a few hours ago after our teachings.

This reminds me: she questioned me before leaving if she could begin calling her brother back from the dead. That idea! Dear me no, it is much too soon.

Who knows what havoc could be caused if she so happened to just utter a syllable of a word incorrectly in the spell book.

Harrumph!

Which also reminds me, she needs more practice in pronunciation—she is rather inexperienced in that area.

Enough about that. I shall review more about pronunciation in enchanted articulation and quiz her on ensorcelled prestidigitation tomorrow.

Right now, as I look through my little window and across the water and out through the opening of the cave, it seems as though it is getting rather foggy outside.

The fog is entering my cave now.

Hmm. That is strange. Usually, Traverse Town is not one to be covered in fog and it makes me feel very

Sora stared at the last, unfinished sentence. There was nothing left. Just a dribble of ink, and then nothing more. What Trinity told him the other night sped across his mind:

"... there was a sudden fog. It was heavy, dark, and mysterious. It blanketed over Traverse Town in sort of a bitter, wicked way. No one could see. Voices felt captured and no one could talk, either. Bodies felt frozen, so no one couldn't move, at all... then everyone just disappeared."

Merlin had disappeared before he had been able to finish his journal entry.

Toshi was being dragged so forcefully.

His head bumped against something hard and rigid.

He was instantly knocked out.

Again.

Kairi and Trinity pushed the door to Second District.

As Trinity raised the lantern, Kairi called out, "Toshi? Are you there?"

They proceeded to calling Toshi's name (and every so often Sora's name), wandering around the district. After they were completely sure Toshi wasn't in Second District, they sought out to Third District, where they again called out for Toshi. No answer. No Toshi.

Nothing.

Kairi sighed. "Where could he have gone?"

Trinity motioned to the candle. "Kairi, look."

The candle was flickering weakly, it was almost melted to the very base and the wax was a small, mass of white glob.

"We'd better head in now. I'm sure your friend is all right," assured Trinity. "It'll be easier to spot him in the morning. For now, I'm sure you're tired. But before heading off to bed—are you hungry? I have some home-made brownies, I made them not too long ago."

Kairi yawned. "I think I'd just like to sleep and..." she paused midway her sentence, her hand still over her mouth as she had been yawning. "Wait, did you say brownies?"

Sora stuck the journal into his pocket.

"This'll come in handy," Sora said under his breath. He exited Merlin's house and managed to jump across the moving stones without descending into the squalid water. "I just know it will."

Sora stepped out of the cave.

It was pitch black dark. Bone-chilling dark.

Sora swallowed hard. How could he get back to the Inn now? It was too dark... how would he be able to make his way around Traverse Town? He was in Third District, and Trinity's inn was at First District. He wondered what Trinity was doing. Was she staying up late to wait for him? Did she just go off to bed? Was she worried sick and looking around for him?

Sora shrugged off his thoughts. "I'll tell her all about what I've found, and how it could possibly help. Merlin knew that it was possible this sort of thing would happen. He knew that if he didn't supervise Trinity, something would go wrong. And something did go wrong."

He wished he could open the journal again and read some of the previous entries, but unlike Merlin's house, there was no source of light in the external area of Third District in Traverse Town.

So, not knowing what to do caused Sora to... well, sit down with his back leaning against the wall.

Sora figured that it was almost midnight. Or midnight. Or a bit past midnight.

Something around midnight.

It'd only be a few hours until the town filled with a gloomy light, bright enough for him to return to the Inn.

He'd just wait here at the moment.

And wait. And wait. And wait some more.

And since Sora was still tired, he found himself nodding off all over again and then falling into a light doze.

Poor Toshi. Let's just say he's not very... comfortable... at the moment.
When Kairi was completely sure (and Trinity made sure of it, too) that she couldn't fit any more brownies in her, she bid Trinity a good-night and thanked her for letting her stay at the Inn.

"Oh, it's no problem at all," Trinity had replied. "By the way, your room would be upstairs to the left. That would be the one right across from Sora's room, but of course he's not here at the moment."

Kairi had gotten an odd feeling in her brownie-filled stomach, and she forced another smile. "Okay. Thank you."

As Kairi walked upstairs and turned to the left, pausing to look at the door at the right, she thought about how ironic it was that they were so close to each other... yet they have not encountered.

Kairi pushed open the door, entered, then closed it behind her.

She changed into the nightgown provided to her by Trinity, and sat at the edge of the bed. "Sora..." Kairi sighed and looked at the ceiling, trying to prevent the tears from falling. "It's like Fate doesn't want us to meet..."

Kairi shook herself of negative thoughts.

She tried to think about positive things.

"Sora could return any moment now. Imagine how he'd react when he sees me!"

That made a smile—a real smile—form at Kairi's lips.

She didn't have to prevent any tears from falling anymore.

"Just think! A few minutes from now he could be entering the Inn... so close to me... then I'd see him... and he'd see me."

Kairi's smile widened. Oh, she just couldn't sleep now.

But she was proven wrong as she leaned back, her head hitting the soft pillows. Kairi fell fast asleep... she had no idea just how exhausted she was.

... Her dark red hair would get in her face and brush against her eyes whenever she was overwhelmed with any sort of feeling... but then she'd smile... oh, how that smile warmed my heart. You could say that I lov—

Sora's eyes blinked open.

"You could say that I lov..." Sora's voice echoed his dream's last few words. "Hmm. It's, like, an enigma. And it's like the only part of the dream I don't really understand..."

Sora looked around. The sun was not up yet, but the sky had brightened slightly and that was good enough. He stood up, stretched his arms overhead, and began walking to First District.

You could say that I lov...

You could say that I...

Kairi yawned.

Her eyes opened.

She noticed that it was dawn, and then she bolted upright.

Getting up and throwing on her own clothes, Kairi bounded downstairs. She found Trinity making a cup of herbal tea. Trinity looked up to notice Kairi's presence.

"Oh, Kairi! I thought you would be sleeping in. Ah, well. I'm sorry, dear. I hadn't though of you waking up this early—so I did not begin making breakfast yet. My apologies... I'll get breakfast ready right away."

Kairi walked over to Trinity and gave her a grateful hug. "It's alright, Trinity. I'm not usually very hungry in the early mornings. So... breakfast can come later. Do you need any help with making it, though?"

"Ah, no. No, no, no. Of course not!" tittered Trinity. "You are my guest and I will be doing all the work."

"Thank you so much, Trinity," Kairi turned a light shade of crimson, and she lowered her voice to a softer tone. "Say, is Sora... um, back yet?"

Trinity's smile faded and she sighed. "Unfortunately... no."

Kairi nodded. "Okay. I'm going to go out for a walk, is that all right? I'll try looking for Toshi again. Maybe I might see... Sora, too."

Trinity canted her head as a sign of approval and she watched as Kairi slipped out of the Inn. A new smile formed at Trinity's lips. The way Kairi referred to Sora... the way Kairi's replies were slightly delayed at the sound of Sora's name and the way her cheeks were tinged with pink when he was mentioned...

Trinity giggled.

"There's something going on between those two!"

Kairi clasped her hands behind her back. The day was slowly, slowly awakening. It was time for the stars to bid farewell, yet not time for the sun to greet the new day. The very little grass that grew off to the side twinkled with droplets of dew, as if the crescent moon had been crying last night. The air was still and unchanging... the line of trees along the cobblestone path seemed to stand there sleepily.

Kairi drew in a deep breath. What was going to happen today?

Looking around, she noticed that no one else was out besides her.

"Hmm, I wonder where everyone could be?"

Kairi let out an empty laugh. Maybe they all disappeared. She shook her head at her silly little thought. Oh, of course not. They must all still be sleeping. It was pretty early, anyway.

Kairi walked, not exactly knowing where she was going. Then she remembered: why not go to the Secret Waterway?

Sora grunted as he pushed open the door to First District.

"Boy, am I hungry."

Sora ambled in the direction of the Inn. He felt a whole mixture of feelings. Sadness, because he still could not find his Keyblade nor Goofy or Donald. And gleefulness because he found something that could possibly lead him and Trinity closer to a solution of what to do for the relinquished Traverse Town.

He also felt longing, to see you-know-who again.

Sora did not notice that he had been walking with his eyes to the ground. But then he heard something like a huge door creaking closed behind him.

Turning around, Sora saw just in time the door entering to First District slam shut.

Did someone just...?

Sora had stopped walking and stared at the towering door, blinking in confusion.

Oh, never mind.

Sora turned around once more and started walking again, thinking he was delusional.

Kairi had been walking with her head up to the newly arrived clouds as she walked across First District and passed through the door to the next district. She felt a weird tingle for a moment, like the feeling of someone else being present, but she was too distracted as she stared a paopu fruit-shaped cloud before leaving First District.

Sora, we're so close... but so very, very far away.

Toshi let out a soft lament. Opening his eyes and waiting until his blurry vision cleared up, he noticed that he was in some sort of dim alleyway.

Toshi felt moderately grumpy. Did he get knocked out again? He growled to himself. He hated what was happening. Then, his negative feelings were overlapped with frightened ones as he remembered a very icy hand covering his mouth and dragging him until he lost consciousness.

"What the..." HELLLLLLOOO, thought Toshi in a panic, as suddenly a shadow besides his own appeared in the alleyway. Toshi took one look at the master of the shadow, and fissions ran down his spine.

It was a girl. She loomed over him, staring him down like predator against prey. What Toshi noticed about her first was her eyes... one was of a lively, vibrant green color. The other was a pale yellow that was clouded over with some transcendental, spiritless emotion—either that, or no emotion at all.

Her hair was a bewitching platinum blonde, shining excessively even in the poorly lit area. Her sleek, very straight hair met barely past her shoulder blades, the ends jagged and tinged with a dynamic red color. As Toshi looked at where her hair ended, he noticed that her shoulders were bare.

Staring at what the girl was wearing on her upper body, he saw that her top was black as the midnight sky and covered her upper area genuinely and appropriately, with straps forming an 'X' as they crossed at her higher chest. As the girl turned around for a moment, as if looking to see if there was anyone else around, Toshi noticed that the straps connected at the back of her neck, exposing her pale back fully. At her left shoulder blade seemed to be a red tattoo, the same kind of red that presently colored the tips of her hair. The tattoo was a sort of heart symbol, only more intricate with more lines and curves.

The girl turned back around, once again giving Toshi a fatal look. Toshi gulped and lowered his eyesight, and he instantly saw that she was wearing a mini-skirt. It was all black, only you could see a bit of neon green in the frills fringed at the ends of the skirt. Toshi's eyes traveled down her whitened legs and down to her feet.

She had no shoes. Her ankles, toes, the whole lot of it... were bare and had no covering.

Toshi blinked. What kind of person didn't wear any—

The girl cleared her throat, catching Toshi's attention. "Excuse me, but I'd appreciate it if you would stop checking me out."

Toshi scrambled up, leaning on the alleyway wall for support, as he was rather unsteady. "I was so not checking you out!"

The girl tucked a few misplaced strands of hair behind her ear. She seemed to be the sort of person that would become irritated with messy hair.

"That's not what your eyes told me," she said in the same insipid voice as before. However, you could hint a bit of a hidden harmonious tone deep within her voice if you listened very carefully.

Now that Toshi was face-to-face with the stranger, he noticed that the girl was just about his age, maybe a year older. Toshi stared at her eyes and was fazed by how they were two different colors with two different vibes coming from each one. He saw a mixture of dullness, sadness, dreariness... but then he also saw excitement, ambition, and... innocence?

His own eyes narrowed. "Well, are you the one who... grabbed me?"

The stranger folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to the side, as if pondering. "Now, I wouldn't call it... grabbing."

"Then what would you call it?"

"An artifice in order to enshroud and dissemble the substantiality of my existence and to be a hindrance of the indubitable fact that you would elude in order to reveal my presence in this domicile, which would cause total catastrophe and calamity upon the prepossessing Traverse Town," replied the girl, extending her fingers before her as if examining her manicure.

Toshi's eye twitched. "Could you... run that by me again?"

"An artifice in order to enshroud and dissemble—"

"Stop that! I didn't really mean it."

The girl stopped and nodded, without a word.

Toshi stared at the girl in curiosity. "Okay, whatever. What's your name? I deserve to know the person who grabbed me."

"I didn't grab you," the girl answered, slowly and eyeing him carefully. "And I want to know your name first."

"You did grab me. And my name is Toshi."

"Really, I did not grab you," the girl replied airily. "As for my name... it's Alexandra."

Sora was surprised to find the Inn door already opened a smidge. He poked his head in and was welcomed with a delightful aroma of pancakes, sausages, bacon, hot cocoa, tea, biscuits, crepes, eggs...

Trinity was muttering to herself. "Green tea, spiced tea, herbal tea..."

Sora stepped inside. "I'm back!"

In a surprised state, Trinity dropped the spoon and box of assorted tea she had been holding and they clattered upon the floor. "Sora! My goodness, you're back! Wherever did you trot off to? Well, I do hope you're hungry. I have more than enough food to stuff all three of us."

Sora walked over to Trinity and picked up the box of tea packets and the spoon she had dropped. He handed them over to Trinity and stared at her in confusion.

"All... three of us?"

Trinity giggled. "Oh, of course you don't know yet."

"Don't know what?"

Trinity clapped her hands playfully. "Guess what?"

"Chicken butt."

Pouting like a child, Trinity replied, "No, no! Okay, I'll make it much more easier for you. Here goes. Guess who?"

"Chicken poo."

"Oh, you're no fun!" Trinity let out an exasperated sigh, though she still held a smile at her lips. "I'm not just going to tell you."

"Umm... animal, mineral, or veg..." Sora stopped himself and gave Trinity a pleading look. "Aw, come on, Trin. Tell me, I'm not good with guessing games."

"Well," said Trinity. "Your dear friend is here."

"... Riku?" Sora thought hard as Trinity shook her head and rejected that guess.

"Donald?"

"No."

"Goofy?"

"No."

"Tarzan?"

"Who? Well, whoever that is, no."

"I give up."

Trinity raised her eyebrows. "Hmmph! You weren't kidding, were you? You really are bad at this game."

"Now that you've rubbed it in, can you tell me?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"Okay."

"Huzzah!" cheered Sora. "Who?"

"Does the name Kairi sound familiar to you?"

REVIEW REPLIES!

tamashiix: Whee! It's always nice to see a new reviewer. :) Yeah, I feel bad for Sora and Kairi. They should meet soon. But, sadly, I am so evil. D:

Sorasgirl333: -highfives- Heehee, thanks. I'm glad you think this story is awesome and that I am an awesome writer. xD I hope you thought this chapter was awesome as well. :D

BattleAngelKurumi: Actually, it was good you signed in because I don't accept anonymous reviews. x) I'm thinking I'm gonna change that, though, teehee. Glad you liked the chapter. :)

thesrazrbladekisses: I am nice, yet I am evil? Whoa! xDD Well, I guess that can sorta relate to me, teehee. :O Cliffhangers are a writer's best friend and the readers' worst enemy! :D

daaku: Sheesh! You doodoo head. xD Always nagging, always never satisfied. :P You're so meeaaan. I LOVE YOU! xD

carbuncle x3: I'm thinking of changing the song again. Do you know the song, 'Wind's Nocturne'? It's so pretty, but short. I like it, though, I can really relate to it. o.o Anyway, no, Akuji doesn't mean crime. x) It means something else, hahah. :D

Mysterious Prophetess: Thanks! I appreciate you reviewing even if you don't have much to say. Wheeee. -heartheartheart-